It brings us together
by Daydreaming
Summary: A certain amount of pain and misery. A certain amount of angst. And a ceratin amount of happiness when the three of them - Harry, Sirius and her - are together. What will they feel at the end, however?(chapter11 posted!)
1. It begins with the ghosts of his parents

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything or characters belong to their respective owners A/N: This is actually a crossover between Harry Potter and an amime (read to find out which). I will only borrow one or two characters and certain ideas from this anime, so it doesn't really matter if you don't like this anime.you can treat that character as a new one. This happened just during the Triwizard Tournament and when the borrowed character is twenty-five years old. And mind you English is not my first language, so bear with me if any grammar mistakes or weird things appear. A/N2 : this is the revised version of chapter one.nothing major changed but certain grammar and spelling mistakes are corrected. Special thanks to Rawiya, the author of 'Family Tree', who so kindly helped me with the corrections. Thank you very much, Rawiya!  
  
A young woman in her early twenties slept peacefully on her bed. At this particular instant, thousands of miles apart, a fourteen year old young boy witnessed the rebirth of the most feared Dark Lord of the century. Then this boy watched the remains of his dead parents emerge from the wand of this Dark Lord. Just as the young boy grabbed the portkey and his and his schoolmate's dead body hit the ground of Hogwarts, the smoke of his parents vanished. A strong gust of wind blew the window to the young woman's room wide open. Two glimmering translucent mists floated into the room. They hovered on the ceiling for a moment then entered the body of the woman.  
  
The young woman, Tenou Haruka, found herself in a space filled with fog. She somehow knew that she was still sleeping, but this was not a dream.  
  
'Sorry to disturb your sleep,' a soft female voice rang behind Haruka and she quickly turned around. Two ghostly figures appeared and approached her slowly. Finally she made out the features of the two glowing spirits. One of them was a man with perhaps the wildest black hair Haruka had ever seen and had sapphire blue eyes, while the other one was a pretty woman with long, wavy auburn hair and a pair of strikingly beautiful green eyes. They appeared to be slightly older than she was.  
  
'Who are you? ' She inquired cautiously.  
  
'We need. . . no, our son needs your help. Time is scarce and we have no one else to turn to. Could you. . . ' the man blurted out, then the woman put her hand the man's arm and squeezed lightly.  
  
'I know that time is running out, but you're being rude, honey, ' the woman scolded and the man nodded slightly and sighed. 'Sorry.'  
  
Haruka was absolutely bewildered by them. She was never a trusting person, however she felt safe in their presence. Under normal circumstances, she would have attacked first and asked later if they suddenly appeared behind her. Yet she now wanted to listen to what they had got to tell her.  
  
'Haruka,' Haruka' s eyebrow raised a bit at the mention of her own name,' I'm Lily Potter and this is James Potter,' James nodded to Haruka at the mention of his name. Lily continued,' we know who you are, and we've been trying to reach you for two years without success. Tonight due to a rather .special circumstance, we succeeded.'  
  
'What do you mean you know who I am? And what do you want from me?'  
  
Lily exchanged a glance with James and some sort of decision seemed to have been made.' We know that you are a senshi and you are powerful. We know because we are dead already.dead people just have their ways of getting information or news they want. . . The Dark Lord whom everyone in our society feared murdered us, but our son survived. Tonight this Dark Lord, Voldemort, has been resurrected. The reign of terror will affect both societies. Our son is his main target, so we hope . . . that you can save him.' Said Lily softly, almost in a whisper. A worried and desperate expression was evident on both ghosts' face. Haruka knew that they would be driven into despair if she refused to help them . . .yet could she trust them? Would it be a trap of new enemies who wanted to lure her into danger in order to get rid of her? Her instinct told her that their sincere and truthful expression was not faked. She wanted to trust and help them. . . but before that she must find out the answers to the many questions that plagued her mind.  
  
'What should I do?'  
  
After a moment of contemplation, James answered, 'Maybe you should first know a bit more about our son. His name is Harry. He will be fifteen years old in about two months. He lives with his aunt's family in the two of Surrey in England. He attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-'  
  
'What?' James said all this in a hurry but Haruka couldn't help but interrupt. James frowned in confusion. 'You don't know about Hogwarts?'  
  
Lily smiled and punched James lightly. 'Of course she does not! She is not a muggle, but neither does she know about our world. 'Lily turned to Haruka, ' Haruka, one basic thing you should know- there are two kinds of people in the world. One type is ordinary people with no magic power in them whom we called "muggles". And the other type is just like our son and us. We have magical power in us.we're witches and wizards. '  
  
Haruka would have thought that Lily had been joking if not for the serious expression on her face. 'But how come we, or ordinary people, never notice such a large crowd of witches and wizards existed?'  
  
'We really have no time though we dearly want to explain it to you. So listen.' James cut rather impatiently,' please go find Harry and protect him. Help him to defeat Voldemort.'  
  
'And please tell him that we know what he's done and we're so proud of him.' Tears formed in Lily's bright green eyes as she continued, 'we love him so much. ' James put his arm around Lily's shoulder and pulled her towards him, his own eyes welling up with tears. 'I will tell him.' Haruka promised.  
  
'Also please tell Sirius- Harry's godfather who can turn into a gigantic black dog nicknamed Padfoot- that we don't blame him and we're grateful for what he has done for Harry, ' James paused for a moment as if to think carefully about how to put his feeling into words. He took in a deep breath, ' TELL THAT STUBBORN MAN STOP BLAMING HIMSELF!' Haruka was greatly taken aback by his sudden outburst. On the other hand, Lily chuckled.  
  
'You can always trust and seek help from the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.' Lily said after regaining her composure, 'and one last thing- this is very important- the weapon that can defeat Voldemort can only be reached by you and the heir. It is placed in the-'  
  
Suddenly there is a violent gust of wind and it nearly knocked Haruka down. The air quickly filled with a dark yet powerful aura. The fog slowly cleared, and a frighteningly high-pitched voice could be heard.  
  
'Potters! I find you again!'  
  
It sent a chill down Haruka's spine. Both James and Lily took out their wands. 'I can't believe it. . . RUN!' The alarmed and slightly shivering tone of James along with their panic-stricken face told Haruka that something really bad was happening. What should she do now?  
  
'We will hold him off. Go! Please get to him. Protect him for us!' Lily shouted as they raised their wands and pointed them towards Haruka with grim determination. White light filled her vision.  
  
'Wait!!!' Haruka sat bolt upright in her bed, panting heavily. Then she raised her hand to wipe the cool sweat off her forehead. And somehow she knew that it was no ordinary dream.  
  
************************************************************************ A/N (again): if anyone is wondering, the meaning of 'senshi' is similar to that of ' warrior'. 


	2. Voldemort's wrath

Disclaimer: Every character and everything belongs to their respective owners. I own nothing. A/N I have to say that I am a bit (actually quite) disappointed at the lack of reviews...only one. Was it because I've forgotten to ask politely for reviews, or that my story was sooo poor that on one even want to read the chapter to the end? Please do let me know that if this is really that bad. Please give me comments so that I'd have chance to try to do better in the future. Please read and review! A/N2 : This chapter is also revised. Still nothing major changed. . . and again special thanks to Rayiwa! ************************************  
  
'POTTER!!!' Voldemort screamed in defeat as Harry Potter grabbed the cup and vanished with his schoolmate's dead body. All the Death Eaters eventually realized the seriousness of the situation. They slowly formed a circle around Voldemort again. No one dared to move as all of them could sense the wrath that radiated from their master.  
  
'FOOLS!! All of you are worthless fools! Crucio!' Voldemort raised his wand in frustration and one unlucky Death Eater fell to the ground and then screamed and squirmed in agony.  
  
'You failed to get me one boy! And you call yourself the most feared followers of Lord Voldemort.' His red hot glare bored into the eyes of every Death Eater. 'I can't believe how lucky the boy is! Wormtail! Get me a chair!' Wormtail quickly transfigured a stone on the ground into a large armchair. Voldemort was in a foul mood after the Potter boy escaped once again. He was even more agitated because the boy did not manage to escape out of sheer luck. Not even a fully trained and skilled auror could run such a long distance with a broken leg while being chased by more than twenty of his followers. Not a chance. But the Potter boy managed to escape. Voldemort was sure that young Potter himself would not have believed his own eyes if he had turned his head to see how well his Impedimenia curse had done- ten of the Death Eaters were stopped by this simple curse. TEN! This clearly showed the immense power the boy was already awakening and this was definitely too fast for Voldemort's liking. Losing this chance to get rid of the boy before his power was fully developed meant bigger trouble  
  
Voldemort finally left the curse off the Death Eater and sat down. Still no one dared to move even a finger.  
  
'Now you should all hope that my faithful servant at Hogwarts can get me Potter. . . or else you will all be very sorry that you are even born.'  
  
Silence hung in the air after Voldemort's threat. A Death Eater finally stepped forward and tried real hard not to let his fear be shown in his voice. 'Master,' Lucius Malfoy's voice said behind his mask, ' would you tell us what happened with your wand and Potter's? What were the things that emerge from your wand? Were they ghosts?'  
  
Voldemort studied Lucius for a moment. 'No, fools, they were definitely not ghosts. They were merely the shadows of who they had been due to Priori Incantation,' Voldemort narrowed his red eyes in a sort of calculating way, 'that boy's wand. . . interesting. And no more stupid questions! I'm not a professor!'  
  
Then Voldemort just sat there in deep contemplation. 'James and Lily Potter. . . are still as annoying as ever, interfering with my plans even in death.' He muttered under his breath. Their ghosts were probably up to something. They couldn't let anything happen to their precious son. . . could they?  
  
Voldemort suddenly stood up, his merciless red eyes widened. 'Go! You fools disappear from my sight now! Return only when you are called.' Voldemort barked and turned with a swish of his long dark cloak. All the Death Eaters eventually disappeared as Voldemort swiftly strode back to the Riddle House, a short figure with glimmering a silver hand hurried after.  
  
*************************  
  
Wormtail stood beside a large armchair, shaking all over as Nagini slid in slowly. He again stared at his 'reward'- the sliver hand. The pain he felt when the original one was cut off- he shuddered at the mere thought- still lingered there. However, he also felt the power that seemed to radiate from his hand.  
  
He still couldn't believe Voldemort had succeeded in returning to the land of the living. He had had a faint hope that Voldemort would just remain in his weak state forever, but now . . . And Harry Potter nearly died, again, because of him, a filthy worthless rat. He would be dead instantly and painfully if Voldemort had known of the relief he felt when Harry reached the cup before any curse reached Harry. He felt so guilty as he cut Harry's arm. He felt that he should be the one tortured when Harry was tortured by Voldemort. He felt that he heart froze and bled when Harry glared accusingly at him through Lily's beautiful green eyes. He was so stupid yet he didn't have the courage to do anything in compensation.  
  
Wormtail stole a glance at his master and noticed that he was still in a trance. Voldemort just stormed in the house and sat down after dismissing the death eaters. He ordered Wormtail not to disturb him or let anything disturb him. Then Voldemort just muttered something, waved his wand, and just sat there with his unseeing red eyes open.  
  
Wormtail let his mind wonder again. He wondered what would happen if he smashed Voldemort's neck with his new hand. He knew his new hand was a powerful dark object. Maybe if he turned in the dead body of Voldemort to the Ministry and cleared Sirius' name, everyone, including Harry, would forgive him. 'But how about the Death Eaters? Could you possibly escape their wrath?' Asked a nasty little voice in his mind that sounded like the squeak of a rat. 'Are you naïve enough to think that anyone would forgive you after what you've done?' Yeah, thought Wormtail darkly, why was I sorted into Gryffindor anyway? I would never have the courage to do anything against Master and the Death Eaters. Yet . . . he wouldn't forget the agony and hatred shown on Harry's young face. The image only grew more clear and vivid in his mind. It's his fault that this young boy, who had spared him his life, had to suffer both physically and emotionally. I'm such a traitor and coward. . .  
  
'Wormtail.' Peter quickly looked up and noticed with dismay that his was under the unnerving glare of his Master. Voldemort appeared to have finally finished whatever business he wanted to tend to, which had apparently not run smoothly for him.  
  
'Can you guess whom have I just met?' Voldemort asked in a low tone that could stop anyone's heart from beating. Wormtail could do nothing but gulped silently, completely in the dark about what Voldemort meant.  
  
'Of course you can't. It's easy to forget how stupid our little rat here is, isn't it? So let me tell you. I just had a little reunion with the ghosts of a certain Potter and his redhead wife of a mudblood.'  
  
Wormtail's eyes widened in disbelieve and horror while Voldemort's eyes flashed with anger.  
  
' Those two you betrayed wanted to interfere with the affairs of the living. They thought they could get someone to save their precious son! How stupid they are!'  
  
'Of. of course they are, Master.'  
  
Voldemort frowned darkly. 'A pity that they managed to flee so quickly. or else I would have taught them again not to stand in the path of Lord Voldemort.'  
  
Voldemort afterwards felt contented to just sit there and observe Wormtail trembling all over while trying real hard not to show it. He always loved the feeling of having complete control over people. He would have that control over Harry Potter in no time. Jr. Crouch had better do his job properly.  
  
Little did Voldemort know that just at that particular moment, miles apart from the Riddle House at Hogwarts, the door to his faithful servant's door was blasted open with a powerful stunning curse. Harry Potter was safe once again.  
  
******************************** That's the end of chapter two. Please read and review!! Harry will SURELY appear in the next chapter ( perhaps Sirius too). 


	3. the uneventful beginning of summer vacat...

Disclaimer: I am poor and own nothing. Everything and every character belong to their respective rich owners. A/N: considering that I've got one more review, I continue this.but one is not quite enough. . . so I hope that anyone who come across this story and bother to read this would also kindly leave a review or two. . .  
  
A/N2 This is the revised version of chapter three. Again credits goes to the author of 'Family Tree', Rawiya! **********************************************  
  
Harry flew high up above the Quidditch pitch, looking furiously for the Snitch. The crowds below were making a lot of noise as the game turned increasingly boring.  
  
That's it! Harry thought as he determinedly dived for the spark of gold just above the ground. The other seeker was also in hot pursuit of the Snitch. He leveled with Harry as they both dived in neck-breaking speed. Harry turned his head slightly.  
  
'Cedric? You are alive! How?' The ground was still far away from them although it should not have taken them long to reach it. Where is the Snitch?  
  
'Kill the spare! KILL THE SPARRRE!!!!!!!' bellowed the crowds. And blinding green light filled the stadium. Cedric gave Harry one last look with his hollow grey eyes before falling off his broom.  
  
'NO! Please don't be dead!! No. . . ' Harry dived frantically for Cedric's body. He had to catch him before he hit the ground. He had to bring his body back!  
  
He got it! He caught him! Without warning Cedric turned his head up to Harry. The only thing that Harry could see was his hollow eyes. 'Why did you kill me?'  
  
Harry released his grip in a mixture of horror and surprise. He could do nothing as Cedric's body fell down through the air, then collided with the ground at an incredible speed together with a sickening crash.  
  
  
  
'NOOOOOOOOOOO!' Harry sat up in his bed, panting and gasping heavily for oxygen. His racing heart only slowed down a bit as Harry kept wiping off the cool sweat rolling down his scarred forehead.  
  
Nightmare had become a regular component of Harry Potter's everyday life in Privet Drive. Harry had nearly forgotten how it felt to have dreamless- or rather 'nightmareless'- sleep or a peaceful rest. There were only forty-seven hours left before his fifteen birthday as the clock struck 1:00am. Harry sighed and then drew his knees close to his chest. What can I do now? He asked himself silently. Risking another nightmare by trying to sleep again, or just sit there until morning?  
  
All his homework had been finished during the long sleepless nights he had had before. He even started to revise the textbooks of last year, which he felt was a too 'Hermione' thing to do. But what else could he do anyway? The Dursleys had more or less ignored him, except for making him do all the chores. Maybe they thought that he was not worthy of their attention. Not that he minded that much.  
  
On the other hand, Ron, and sometimes Mrs. Weasley, sent him daily owls, which was comforting and a bit annoying at the same time (especially when the post was delivered by Pig- dealing with this practically mad owl was no laughing matter). They seemed determined to convey the idea that Harry was not responsible for what happened at the Triwizard Tournament. But it was certainly no one else's fault but his that Cedric took the cup with him. How stupid he had been to not to notice that the imposter Moody was not the real one. . . Why hadn't he thought of and looked at the Marauder's Map more often last year? Everyone told him not to dwell on the past. . . it was easier said than done.  
  
Harry peered out of the window at the moonlit sky. Something glimmering against the bottomless dark blue sky caught his attention. It was only a white spot in the distance but then it became steadily larger as it approached. It was a white owl. He would have thought that it was his owl Hedwig, who had been out hunting, if not for the way it flew - it was different from that of Hedwig's. Also it seemed a little smaller than Hedwig.  
  
Harry opened the window as the snowy owl gracefully flew past him to land on his desk. He detached the package and letter that the beautiful and well - nourished owl delivered and offered it Hedwig's tray of water. From the neat writing on the envelope, Harry knew that it was from Hermione.  
  
  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
How are you? You don't have to answer cause I know what you would say. I understand. Just give it time. It's not yet your birthday yet, I know, but Terence seemed eager to deliver something, and I've already bought your birthday present, therefore I sent him. ('So it's a "him",' muttered Harry while gently patting the snowy owl) I bought Terence a few days ago in Diagon Alley. Crookshanks is none too pleased with it. However, he is clever enough to know that he can never get its paws on Terence. Anyway, I wish you a very happy 15th birthday! Hope that you will find my present to you an interesting read. I got one for myself, and it certainly was a great read. Not to mention that reading book is a good way to keep your mind off certain things.  
  
Now, promise me to be careful and do not do anything rash or stupid, OK? Hopefully we'll meet soon. Take care!  
  
Love from, Hermione.  
  
  
  
After writing a brief reply to Hermione to thank her for her present, Harry watched Terence gracefully take off. Harry found it strange that Hermione had not mentioned about schoolwork or O.W.L.s, but perhaps she thought that what he needed most now was to relax. That was thoughtful of Herminone.  
  
Harry removed the wrappings of the package with mild interest. Unsurprisingly it was, as mentioned in the letter, a book. It was titled 'Ancient Myth- believe it or not' and on the cover there was a picture of a faintly glowing and rotating moon. Harry flipped through the pages of the book. It seemed to be about various myths about both the magical and muggle world and the possibility of such myth being real or just made up by ignorant people.  
  
Harry stopped flipping as something caught his eye- 'Wizards, Witches and Mysteries of the Space '. The idea that witches and wizards can be in any way related to space exploration had never crossed Harry's mind, but if Muggles managed to travel to space, wizards surely could find a way to do so! Harry read with increasing interests, his previous nightmare now on the very back of his mind.  
  
It seemed that wizards and witches succeeded in escaping the gravitational force of the earth by an extremely complicated form of apparition back in 1900. However, as the process and charms involved in protecting the space travelers from the harms of the space were so dangerous and difficult that it, like many other things such as being an animagus, was being closely restricted and monitored by the Ministry of Magic. The word 'ministry' made Harry involuntarily think about a certain coward who called himself the Minister. It still shocked him greatly that Fudge was such a selfish fool. . .Harry could not shake off the feeling that Fudge would be the downfall of the wizarding world if he was allowed to remain in power. Harry read on, 'Many witches and wizards prefer gazing at the stars and guessing the secrets they held rather than being on them themselves.'  
  
'So, what are the myths related to the mysterious space? The most widely believed myth is that magic is extra-terrestrial. This is in fact one of the many speculations on how magic began on earth. Some of us believe that creatures from space passed magic to a select few people on earth.  
  
'One of the most popular myths concerning the space dates back to the 1920's. The legend tells of the Silver Millennium. It was a kingdom started thousands of years ago when creatures, not unlike humans, lived on every planet in the solar system. Such creatures were able to survive the space because of their advanced level of magic. This kingdom included the whole solar system and its capital was situated at the Moon of the Earth. By then the magic on earth had barely begun and people on earth were completely blind to the existence of other beings other than that on the earth and they were oblivious of what was going on in the neighbouring planets.  
  
'The Silver Millenium was ruled by the Royal Family on Moon while each planet in the solar system, except the Earth, was governed by its own Royal Family that obeyed the King and the Queen of the Moon. The magic possessed by the members of the Royal Families greatly surpassed that of ordinary people. The eldest daughter of each Royal Family inherited the immense power from the queen and was said to be chosen by God as the protector of the planet. Before these princesses married and became the queen, they protect the solar system from the attack of dark forces from outer space. They were said to be invincible and together they could destroy a whole planet. Peace and prosperity that no human beings on earth could even image were hence maintained in the Silver Millennium for hundreds of years.'  
  
Then the book went on to describe the life of people living in the kingdom. Harry wondered what it would be like if such peace really existed. If life was free of dangers of being killed or worse - getting caught by ruthless death eaters. Only if his life had been Voldemort-free. . . If that kingdom really existed, the solution to defeating Voldemort would then be very simple- just ask help from those powerful princesses. . . Harry stopped his wondering and turned back to the book.  
  
'The end of the Silver Millennium finally came when a powerful dark force invaded the kingdom. All the people living on the solar system except the earth were killed. All the protectors of the planets died fighting. But the dark force met its end on the last queen of the moon. On the last day of the battle, the queen witnessed the murder of her beloved daughter by the enemy. Stricken with unbearable grieve, the queen set loose the magic in herself through a crystal and destroyed all the enemies. . .'  
  
'You may certainly be wondering what does the kingdom have to do with magic on earth? One version of the myth is that the last remaining members of the Royal Families escaped to the Earth, and that all of the magical populations on Earth are in fact their descendants. Another version is that the Royal Family of certain planets sent some of the most outstanding members to the earth during the invasion of the dark force in hope of continuing magic and to preserve the bloodline together with the power of the royal families. Upon the arrival on Earth, these chosen ones realized that though magic existed on the Earth, it was at a very low level and was completely unorganized. Therefore they started the first ever magic school on Earth- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'  
  
Harry widened his eyes at this, so the founders of Hogwarts were 'aliens'! It surely cannot be true, can it? At least Hermione had never read about this in other books (Harry knew as she would have told Ron and him if she discovered something like this).  
  
'So it is a story after all.'Harry muttered as he set the book aside. He closed his eyes unknowingly. The more he read, the harder it was for him to keep his eyes open.  
  
Just as Harry nearly fell asleep, he was startled by a large and approaching voice down the street. It was a high pitch voice laughing hysterically. It made Harry, for the briefest moment, think that it was the cruel laughter of Voldemort. His hand automatically reached to the wand placed securely in his pocket, which had not left his side since the holiday began, and grabbed it tightly. He slowly loosened his grip as his brain told him- it was only the laughter of a girl. But then it asked, 'who would be so inconsiderate to make such an annoying noise in the dead of night?'  
  
Harry's curiosity drove him to get up from his bed and walk to the window.  
  
'Hey, Jason, can you see that?' a teenage girl, apparently drunken, was shouting excitedly and waving her arms madly, 'stars are falling upon us! It's funny! I want to have another beer! Give me another-' the young man supporting the girl covered the girl's mouth with his hand.  
  
'Shut up, Jean! You're waking the neighborhoods! They may call the police. . .' Harry could no longer make out what he was saying because he had lowered his voice. The two of them just stood immediately under Harry's window.  
  
'Jason, look!' the girl got rid of Jason's restricting hand and pointed to an alley across the road, 'that black dog is grinning!'  
  
Indeed, there was a gigantic black dog sitting across the road. . . and yes, the black dog did seem to be grinning. Wait, thought Harry, a dog cannot grin. . .but what about an animagus? Harry strained his eyes to try to get a better look at the dog in the dark alley.  
  
'Nonsense' said Jason while dragging the hopelessly drunken girl away. Harry did not notice their departure as his attention was entirely on the black dog that was his godfather Sirius Black, also nicknamed Padfoot or Snuffles. He intended to turn around, dash downstairs and out of the house, but he stopped at the shaking of his godfather's gigantic hairy head. He didn't lift his eyes off Sirius as he crossed the road swiftly. Harry couldn't make out what he was doing at the front door, but after a minute or so, something - apparently a dog's paw - scratched on his bedroom door. Harry quickly ran to the door then opened it - and wished he hadn't.  
  
****************************************************** It maybe an odd place to end. . . but who cares! If you want to know what happens afterwards, or you want to see Sirius, or you want to see something less boring, then review please and it would give me a reason to continue. 


	4. Grinning Padfoot and Tremors of Emotion

Disclaimer: Everything and every character belong to their respective rich owners. I am poor and own nothing. . . not even Terence the snowy owl. . . because it is owned by Hermione!  
  
A/N: well, I don't really have much to say. . .just want to thank the few reviewers who bother to review. Thank you! . . . Sirius appears ,finally, in this chapter. Also, I can no longer bear with the title of this story. . .it seem more and more silly. . .so it is now called 'It brings us together'  
  
A/N This chapter is revised. No significant changes but certain mistakes were corrected. Credits again go to Rawiya!  
  
Chapter Four Grinning Padfoot and Tremors of Emotion  
  
  
  
Harry couldn't make out what Sirius was doing at the front door, but after a minute or so, something - apparently a dog's paw - scratched on his bedroom door. Harry quickly ran to the door, opened it - and then wished he hadn't as the giant black dog leapt on him. The force knocked him down and collided with the floor with a crash. As if it wasn't enough, the dog did not get off him after they landed on the floor and it licked Harry furiously. Harry could hardly breathe under the weight of the giant dog and the licking was highly ticklish.  
  
"Hey! S. . . stop that!" Harry said between fits of laughter. He'd been fighting hard not to laugh out loud so as not to wake up the other occupants of the house. Thankfully Aunt Petunia had been away that night on a trip to London with her high school friends. Aunt Petunia would surely have been awakened by all these noises, because she was not a deep sleeper. On the other hand, nearly nothing could wake up Uncle Vernon and Dudley when they were sleeping.  
  
After a moment of struggle, the dog finally decided to get off Harry. Harry couldn't help but had a sneaking suspicion that the dog was again grinning all the time. Nevertheless, he got up from the floor with a slight difficulty as he had to first catch his breath, then he rushed to the bedroom door to shut it. By the time he turned around, the dog had already been replaced with his godfather.  
  
They just stood there studying each other. What Harry noticed about Sirius was that his cleanly shaven cheeks had filled out, and his shoulder- length black hair was tidier. What he wore was a pair of jeans and a black shirt and they suited him perfectly though Harry had never seen him in Mmuggle clothes. The grin still lingered on his much younger and handsome face.  
  
Harry felt oddly warm at heart at such a sight. The meetings between Sirius and him were often filled with anxiety and tension, usually both had loads of things to worry about. They never had the chance to talk about more family-like things, or ever hugged for the matter. So Sirius' previous display of open affection startled Harry quite a lot. But it didn't really matter as Harry, for the first time ever, felt that both of them were completely at ease at each other's presence. It somehow made Harry believe that he was many steps closer to the Sirius Black before Azkaban. . . but not there yet. .... "So, Sirius, living with Professor Lupin did you good?" said Harry, who couldn't help but grin back at Sirius.  
  
"I'm sure Remus would be very pleased to hear that."  
  
"You acted like a hyperactive dog."  
  
"Really? Did I? I just hope that would cheer you up. . . and I succeeded, didn't I?" Sirius stepped closer to Harry, his expression seemed more serious. "I thought that you would be asleep at such an hour and I intended to come again tomorrow night. So why are you not sleeping?" said Sirius, eyeing the bags under Harry's eyes warily. Harry had grown taller, but it somehow made him looked thinner. . . or had he really been thinner than before?  
  
"I was sleeping. The noise made by the drunken girl woke me." That was not entirely lying. He did nearly fall asleep. Harry knew he could and should trust Sirius and tell him the things that have been bothering him. Maybe he just didn't want anyone to know that how weak he actually felt. . .  
  
Sirius had not shown if he noticed Harry was not telling the truth. "then. . . how have you been doing?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Pause.  
  
"Maybe not that fine." Harry's gaze lowered to the floor. All the raging emotions that had been carefully locked were threatening to escape. Cedric. Voldemort. Wormtail. His parents. No, Harry told himself, he would not break down in front of his godfather. It was supposed to be a cheerful reunion. . . he would not ruin it. . .  
  
Sirius watched as Harry battled his inner emotions. A great sadness engulfed him upon seeing the agonized expression on Harry's young face. Sirius could see that Harry was trying very hard not to let his pain be shown. The poor boy did not want Sirius to worry about him! Even if he himself was in such great pain. . . Sirius' regret in not being present in Harry's life was then more painful than ever. His regret in trusting that filthy rat and causing the death of his dearest friends - Harry's parents - nearly tore him apart. But it was not the time for him to grieve.  
  
In a swift motion, Sirius crossed the room and took Harry in his arms, embraced him tightly for a moment, then rubbed his back gently as Harry started to shiver. No tears came.  
  
"It's ok, Harry. It's ok to cry." Harry shook his head while burying his face deep into Sirius' loose shirt. He wrapped his arms tightly around Sirius. There is no need to cry anymore, thought Harry silently. You are here already.  
  
They stood without saying a word to each other, simply contented to feel each other's comforting presence. Harry was really grateful that he could finally understand how it felt to have a father. . . to have someone who cares about him.  
  
Finally Harry decided that their time together was precious and perhaps they should start doing other things. He pulled away from their hug and motioned Sirius to sit on the bed.  
  
"How are you then, Sirius?" as soon as the question left Harry's mouth, he suddenly realized something. He couldn't believe that he was so stupid as to forget something so important!  
  
"Hey, wait. Why are you here? What do you think you're doing? This place is probably being watched by the ministry! You may be seen and caught! What if the aurors are coming now? You should - "  
  
"Relax, Harry." Sirius interrupted with a slightly amused expression. "I know better than to come here unprepared. And with the noise you're making, you would properly wake up the Muggles." Sirius spat the word 'Muggles' with distaste, apparently thinking of the inhabitants of this house.  
  
Harry watched in confusion, then in horror as Sirius pulled out a wand from his pocket. He should not do magic here! The ministry surely could detect if a spell is performed and may even know it is Sirius. The house would be swarmed with aurors before Sirius could even open his bedroom door! Harry wanted to warn Sirius not to do any magic when Sirius raised his wand, pointed it towards the wall and muttered a spell.  
  
"NO!" Harry yelled, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand, realizing his stupidity in making such a loud noise.  
  
"You don't have to be worried. I've done the silencing spell on this room. We can sing karaoke in here and the Muggles would still be sleeping soundly!" Seeing the expression of anxiety on Harry face, Sirius really felt a bit funny, but he was also touched at Harry's concern over his well being. . .which, in his opinion, he clearly didn't deserve. "But- " Sirius held up his hand to stop Harry. "Dumbledore knows of my visit. Nothing done in this room would be detected by the Ministry."  
  
Harry let out his breath as relief washed over him. "Don't ever scare me like that again! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought I was going to have a heart attack. . . "  
  
Sirius ruffled Harry's messy hair with a teasing smile. "It never occurred to me that you could be so touchy.you nearly are as touchy and fussy as Lily - " he stopped abruptly. Then he studied Harry's expression carefully. Harry seemed surprised at Sirius' sudden stop in speech, but then noticing Sirius' intense gaze; he smiled faintly to assure him that it was alright.  
  
"It's ok to talk about my parents, you know. In fact I'm eager.very eager to know about them because I know too little about them. If you told me I think that it'd be just like knowing them myself. . . but I'm afraid that it'd be too painful for you to think about them."  
  
"No," Sirius shook his head and took Harry's thin hand into his own large and warm hand gently, "it's not painful to think or talk about them anymore. . . at least not as painful. I've kind of worked it out with Remus in the last mouth. It did make us laugh to think of all the brilliant and plainly stupid things we've done in the past."  
  
Sirius' eyes then stared into the space, memory after memory flashed in his mind. Smiling slightly to himself, he continued, "Or day filled by playing pranks on the Slytherins and teachers, discovering and roaming all the secret passageways in Hogwarts, running wild in the forest, flirting with those stupid girls, and being outwitted by those beautiful and clever girls just like your mother." Sirius grinned, apparently very fond of those memories. "We were young, naïve. . . and brave. Thanks to that stupid bravery, we achieved so much and also made terrible mistakes. This bravery, willingness to try and discover is somehow lost on us now that we are older. Opportunities are thus also lost. . . "  
  
He turned to peer out of the window. Harry remained silent, slowly digesting what Sirius was saying. Without looking back at Harry, Sirius said, "you have to do something without thinking only of the consequences, after all."  
  
Harry squeezed Sirius' hand gently. "Hermione would not agree to that. . . but that's the spirit of Gryffindor." Both of them laughed knowingly. It felt so good to see Sirius smile so often. A smile suited his handsome features far more than the grimace and pain.  
  
"We've been a little bit distracted." Sirius patted his godson's shoulder to get his attention back. "so. . . honestly , how do you feel?"  
  
"I feel better now that you are here with me," seeing Sirius' doubtful expression, he added, "yes, I've been having nightmares for weeks. Yes, I don't have much appetite. Yes, I often think of that night. . . but now I think I'll be able to get pass these. I'm willing to at least try. As long as I've you, the Weasleys, Hermione and Hargrid."  
  
Harry looked at Sirius in the eyes until his intense gaze softened. "And don't forget that you also have the support of Remus."  
  
"Remus?. you mean professor Lupin?"  
  
Sirius chuckled at this. "Professor Lupin. I still can't adjust to the idea that he had been a professor. He has it in him, doesn't he?"  
  
Sirius' smile suddenly froze and his face darkened in concentration.  
  
"What's the matter?" Harry asked, alarmed at his sudden change of mood.  
  
"Many people. . . at least ten are coming this way."  
  
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	5. Attack Started¡KSo Let¡¦s Escape!

Disclaimer: All the characters and ideas that appeared in this story belong to their respective owners. I own nothing!  
  
A/N Read and review please.  
  
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Chapter 5 Attack Started. . . So Let's Escape!  
  
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"What's the matter?" Harry asked, alarmed at his sudden change of mood.  
  
  
  
"Many people. . . at least ten are coming this way. Draw the curtain." Sirius' keen hearing alerted him to faint footsteps down on the street signaling that these people hadn't deliberately hid the sound of their movements.  
  
  
  
Harry quickly drew the curtains so that people on the street would not know that they were spying on them. Sirius peeped at the street through the curtains. Harry's heart beat quicker and quicker. Please don't let it be Death Eaters. Please don't let them hurt Sirius . . .  
  
  
  
"Have you got your wand?"  
  
  
  
"Yes." Harry said and pulled out his wand from his pocket. Sirius left the window and turned back, his brain instantly generating several not too feasible escape routes. He knew something was wrong. . .terribly wrong. . .but he had to get Harry to safety.  
  
  
  
Harry stared questioningly at Sirius.  
  
  
  
"Death Eaters, twelve of them. More could be on the way. There is no hope of Aurors coming. They would have been here by now if they had meant to come. Where's Hedwig?"  
  
  
  
"Out hunting."  
  
  
  
"So contacting Dumbledore is out of the question. . ." Sirius stood there with his hands folded, contemplating deeply. Harry, on the other hand, could hardly think properly. Don't panic, he told himself.  
  
  
  
Without warning, the house suddenly shook violently as if something large had collided with it. Harry lost his balance and fell back onto his bed. Sirius quickly glanced out of the window.  
  
  
  
"This should not be happening. . . the protection. . ." he whispered to himself, and then he turned to Harry. 'Listen, Harry.' Harry had just managed to sit up. Sirius knelt in front of him to speak to him at eye level. He put both hands on Harry's shoulders.  
  
  
  
"Our only chance is to get to Arabella's place and then go to Hogwarts by floo powder. "  
  
"Arabella?"  
  
"That's Mrs. Figg."  
  
  
  
Harry's emerald eyes widened. Mrs. Figg, the crazy cat-loving old lady, a witch? Impossible.  
  
  
  
"There's no time for explanations. This house will only hold for roughly ten minutes. I'm going to transfigure my features so that I look like you -" Sirius held up his hand to prevent Harry from interrupting. "I run out first to cause a distraction. After the Death Eaters leave to chase me, flee immediately to Arabella's. . . Mrs. Figg's house. I'll get there as soon as I can. Just do as I say. "  
  
  
  
"NO! I'm definitely not going to leave you in danger and run to safety myself! No!"  
  
  
  
"Oh, yes you're going to!" Sirius tightened his grip on Harry's shoulders and shook him firmly. "I'm more than capable of escaping a few Death Eaters, Harry. Trust me." Harry, please let me protect you. . . I don't mind what would happen to me. . .but I won't let anything happen to you, never. Sirius vowed to himself silently.  
  
  
  
Harry nodded grimly. He didn't want to admit it, but they couldn't possibly defeat all the Death Eaters by themselves. He was sure that Sirius would be able to handle the Death Eaters by himself. After all, it was him and no other who managed to escape Azkaban. Harry would be a burden to Sirius if they tried to escape together, so it would be better if they went their separate ways. At least Sirius would have a chance to escape. "Ok, I'll go to Mrs. Figg's house. . . but promise me that you won't let anything happen to yourself."  
  
  
  
Then came another powerful blow to the house.  
  
  
  
"What the hell is happening? HARRY POTTER!!" Uncle Vernon's bellow rang through the house. It appeared that he had finally woken from all the noise.  
  
  
  
"Just leave them here." Sirius said upon seeing Harry's anxious look. Harry surely didn't want to have to deal with the Dursleys when he was already busy trying to escape the Death Eaters.  
  
  
  
"Get your invisibility cloak." Sirius said while having a last glance out of the window. Harry quickly grabbed his cloak from his open trunk. The Firebolt that lay beside it made Harry stop.  
  
  
  
"Sirius, we can flee by broom!"  
  
  
  
Harry barely felt the relief for the fact that they could flee so easily when Sirius crushed his hope. "No. Several Death Eaters are already hawking out there by broom. They may be professional Quidditch players."  
  
  
  
Without another word, Harry nodded dejectedly and was ready to follow Sirius out of the room. Sirius swung the door open and they were startled to find a fuming Vernon Dursley stood outside, his giant fist raised, just about to pound on the door.  
  
  
  
"What - Who are . . ." he stopped immediately as Sirius pointed his wand directly at Uncle Vernon's temple. Harry would have laughed out loud at his uncle's purple face if not for the seriousness of the situation.  
  
  
  
"Shut up and stay in the house. Don't get in our way if you don't want to get yourself and your family killed." The venom in Sirius' voice was enough to make anyone believe that Sirius was indeed capable of murder. He then ushered Harry downstairs without a backward glance at the speechless and shaken Uncle Vernon who was too stunned to even move an inch.  
  
  
  
"One minute after I go." After seeing that Harry put on the invisibility cloak, Sirius bolted out of the front door, leaving no chance for further protest from Harry. Harry watched anxiously as the disguised Sirius darted away from the house and sent a curse that caused a large explosion to where most of the darkly robed figures gathered. A dazzling light lingered for a moment. Harry couldn't see anything but could only hear the shouts and the screams of the Death Eaters.  
  
  
  
"It' him! It's Potter!"  
  
"What's happening? What has he done?"  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"Over there! Catch him!!!"  
  
  
  
After the light died out, Harry could no longer see Sirius, but only the backs of the Death Eaters who were all running at their full speed down the road. Sirius must have fled that way.  
  
  
  
Harry surveyed the area once again and noticed that two Death Eaters lay motionless on the ground, apparently stunned. It seemed that Sirius had not only caused a distraction that allowed Harry to flee safely, but also managed to take out two Death Eaters in the process. Harry was impressed. . . but he had to deal with the more pressing matter of getting to Mrs. Figg's house first.  
  
  
  
With his wand in his hand and invisibility cloak covering his body, Harry cautiously ran out the door of the house and into the road that led to Mrs. Figg's house, which was only a few streets away. He could still hear the occasional shouts of the Death Eaters not too far away. "Please don't let him be hurt. . ." thought Harry. Although he knew very well that Sirius could manage himself just well, Harry couldn't stop himself from worrying. He kept running nevertheless.  
  
  
  
Harry didn't know why he sensed it. Perhaps it was his instinct as a seeker, Harry knew something was flying real fast towards him from behind, and so he dodged. A red light flew just above his head as Harry rolled onto the pavement, his invisibility cloak slipping off in the process and falling onto the ground. Harry had no time to retrieve it as another curse came flying his way. He immediately sprang up from the ground and got behind a nearby lamppost. The curse hit the window of the house just behind him and the glass shattered with a loud crash.  
  
  
  
Two Death Eaters discovered him and they were steadily advancing on him. He ought to have guessed that this wouldn't so easy.  
  
  
  
"POTTER IS HERE!!!" "He is here!"  
  
  
  
Harry kept running and found that he was being forced away from the original path! Harry dodged another round of curses and sent his own to the attackers.  
  
  
  
"Stupefy! Expelliarmus!"  
  
  
  
It seemed that luck was on Harry's side or that he had a better aim than the two Death Eaters, because they were lying on the ground when Harry turned his head to examine how close they were.  
  
  
  
Harry ran towards the direction of Mrs. Figg house once again. He ran and ran and ran.  
  
  
  
Several Death Eaters darted out from a nearby alley. But then Harry had already reached the door of Mrs. Figg's house. He pound heavily on the door and shouted. "Mrs. Figg!!!"  
  
  
  
He had to cast the shielding charm on himself as the Death Eaters showered curses on him.  
  
  
  
"Mrs. Figg! Open up!"  
  
  
  
It really was a wonder that Harry's shielding charm could block such a lot of curses , because it had seemed so feeble just a few months ago when he practiced it with Hermione and Ron. However, soon the shield was no longer enough. Death Eaters were only a few steps away. With the last desperate pound on the door, Harry sprang away from the door again as the closest death eater leapt to try to catch him. It would be useless to get into the house with Alohomora . Mrs. Figg surely was not in the house or else she certainly would be woken up by all the noise . . .and he did not know where she would put the floo powder. If he had managed to get into the house, he would have been trapped.  
  
  
  
Where should he go now? And where was Sirius? Was he hurt? Or Caught? What should he do now? Harry could think of nothing else as he ran desperately from the pursuing Death Eaters. A park was a few yards ahead of Harry. Maybe he could climb on a tree to hide for a while? Harry increased his speed.  
  
  
  
Just as Harry was about to reach the nearest tree, a curse landed and exploded just behind his feet and sent him flying forward and colliding headlong into the tree. Although it hurt a lot, Harry forced himself to look up and find who had attacked him from above. And he saw with dismay that a Death Eater on a broom, just as Sirius had told him, and was diving towards him at a great speed! Harry didn't have to look at the writing on the broom to know that it was a Firebolt.  
  
  
  
He knew that he would be no match for a broom(a Firebolt no less!)! Harry kept running nevertheless. Soon he felt a pull on his arm. The Death Eater caught him. No! An indescribable fear rose in Harry. I have to do something! Then an idea suddenly dawned on Harry as the Death Eater, still floating above the ground on the broom, turned Harry around roughly.  
  
  
  
Harry raised his wand to the Death Eater's eye level and sent red sparks, which he had learned to do during his first year, into the face of the Death Eater. With a great yell, the Death Eater released his iron grip on Harry's arm and shot upwards and backwards quickly, one hand clapping tightly over his eyes. Harry didn't wait to see whether the unfortunate Death Eater managed to stay on his broom as the other Death Eaters were closing in on him.  
  
  
  
Harry once again turned to run, only to be pulled behind a tree. It was a bony but steady hand that clapped over his month and another that held tightly onto his arm.  
  
  
  
"It's Mrs. Figg." she said. Her voice, only usually used to fuss about cats, was oddly authoritative and calm.  
  
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	6. The First and Last Real Meeting with Mrs...

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All the characters and ideas belong to their respective 

owner

A/N Well, enjoy yourself by reading this! This is by far the longest chapter.Then please kindly review!

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Chapter 6 The First and Last Real Meeting with Mrs. Figg

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Someone pulled Harry behind a tree and covered his mouth to silent him.

¡¥It¡¦s Mrs. Figg.¡¦ The voice that usually only used on fussing about cats was oddly authoritative and calm.

Harry could hardly comprehend what happened next. The death eaters chasing Harry ran straight pass the spot on which Harry and Mrs. Figg were standing, completely oblivious of their presence. Harry had not heard Mrs. Figg muttered any spell on them, so they should not be invisible¡KHarry felt that his brain could not function properly at the lack of air.

¡¥Dear, sit down first.¡¦ The hands on Harry¡¦s mouth and arm were removed. Harry for the first time noticed that Mrs. Figg and he were standing inside a circle of diameter roughly one meter drawn on the ground with a white line. It reminded Harry of the age line drawn by Professor Dumbledore in the last year.

Harry obeyed Mrs. Figg¡¦s word ¡V not that he really had that much strength left to keep standing ¡V and sat down, facing the old woman that he thought he knew for most of his life. Mrs. Figg was in her white nightgown and her silvery white hair was a bit loose and dishevelled¡Kbut what attracted Harry¡¦s attention most was her expression. It was of a wise old woman¡¦s determined face. Was it really the Mrs. Figg Harry had known for so long? The same old lady whom Harry had thought was incapable of running or even walking at a great speed for the matter? But then Harry knew it would not be hard for the old lady sitting in front of him to battle with death eaters. 

¡¥Harry, are you hurt?¡¦ Mrs. Figg¡¦s voice drew back Harry¡¦s attention. Harry shook his head.

¡¥I¡¦m sorry that I¡¦ve not told you earlier¡K that I¡¦m a witch.¡¦ Harry knew from the sincere expression on Mrs. Figg¡¦s face that the answer he had been anticipating since Sirius mentioned Mrs. Figg¡¦s name would finally be given to him. ¡¥I was an auror. I wanted so much to tell you about all these, but Dumbledore forbid me to do so because of the _stupid_ need of secrecy.¡¦ Mrs. Figg said with a slight scowl. 

What Harry felt upon Mrs. Figg¡¦s word was complicated. Needless to say he was surprised to know that she was a witch. He felt relieved that he found someone who would help him, but to know that of all the years that he had spent with the muggles, one of them ¡V a witch ¡V was so near him! But perhaps it was not the time for this. 

¡¥Have you seen Sirius? Why can¡¦t the death eaters see us?¡¦

¡¥I¡¦ve not seen him, dear. But I¡¦m sure that he¡¦ll be just fine.¡¦ Noticing the stress in Harry¡¦s tone, Mrs. Figg put her hand gently on Harry¡¦s shoulder and answered his question. ¡¥We are now in a temporary protection ward drawn by me. No one can hear or see us¡Khowever, this is very power draining. I cannot hold it up for much longer. Anyway let me first explain a few things. As you have probably guessed, I was sent ¡V actually I have volunteered ¡V to live near you to protect you. I¡¦ve heard the commotion at your house and wanted to get to you, but then I noticed that I could not because my house was also surrounded by ten or more death eaters. I don¡¦t know why, but they know of my existence when you yourself don¡¦t. They did attack with careful planning. First of all they had fooled the ministry members because your house should be under constant surveillance by the ministry¡Kand the protection at your house should not be that weak. Are your aunt and your cousin alright?¡¦

¡¥I think so¡Kthough my aunt is not at home at the moment.¡¦

¡¥Not at home? Tell me more about it.¡¦

¡¥She is out with her friends on a trip¡KI don¡¦t really know about the details. She received a phone call this afternoon from her high school friends and then just decided to go.¡¦

¡¥I see¡K¡¦ Voldemort really wanted to get this child, but why? Arabella asked herself. The death eaters had not meant to kill Harry¡Kmaybe Voldemort wanted to torture and then kill the poor boy himself. She definitely would not let that happen. She studied Harry for a moment. He seemed so young and tired. He must be exhausted both physically and mentally. And not to mention that he was too skinny for her liking¡K if she had got the chance, she would dearly love to show and fill Harry with her delicious cooking which both James and Lily had loved¡K

¡¥Err¡Ksorry to disturb you, but what should we do now?¡¦ Harry couldn¡¦t help but asked as Mrs. Figg seemed so absorbed in her own thought. They really had to hurry. They had to find out where Sirius was also.

¡¥Oh, sorry. Old woman can be forgetful and cannot focus on one thing very well sometimes¡Kthere was a time when I forgot to tell my photos not to move¡Kand they were seen by muggle neighbours when we were having dinner. It caused me a lot of trouble as I needed to use the memory charm on them all¡KI was hopeless at memory charm.¡¦ She kept muttering to herself more than to Harry as she put her hand in her nightgown pocket and searched for a while. Then she pulled out a tiny bag.

¡¥Here, take this.¡¦ Harry took the bag from her.

¡¥This is floo powder. Get to my house and get to Hogwarts by this.¡¦

¡¥What about you? And Sirius?¡¦

¡¥Don¡¦t worry. I¡¦ll go and find him.¡¦

Then they stopped and listened intently as footsteps approached them. Five death eaters came running their way. Shouts could be heard from the surrounding. _Is it Sirius?_ Harry thought with a feeling of forbiddance. _They discovered him? _

The death eaters searched the area frantically. A tall one shouted, ¡¥We¡¦ll be all dead if we don¡¦t get the boy tonight. Hurry up!¡¦ Maybe that was the leader of the group? Harry was sure that Voldemort wasn¡¦t there because his scar didn¡¦t hurt.

¡¥I believe that your scar doesn¡¦t hurt?¡¦ Harry nodded.

¡¥Harry, we would take action when all the death eaters are further away from us¡Kand¡K¡¦ Mrs. Figg looked hesitant for a moment, but she then made up her mind. ¡¥I really want to say sorry to you.¡¦

¡¥What?¡¦ Harry wasn¡¦t sure if he had heard her correctly. He was quite taken aback. ¡¥Why?¡¦

¡¥I mean¡K of all the years that you¡¦ve been suffering at the Dursley, I was just a few streets away. Though Dumbledore had told me not to interfere, and that you¡¦d be better protected there¡KI should have insisted¡K I should have argued with him. I should have done something, even by kidnapping you. I should have raised you as my grandson.¡¦

It was true that Harry was a bit outraged that Mrs. Figg had never told him even a bit about their world or had never shown that she cared for him, but seeing the deep regret in the old woman¡¦s face, Harry could not bring himself to blame her.

¡¥It was especially hard for me in the first few years. To see you being ignored, maltreated and unloved. I wanted so much to take you, the little one without parents, in my arms and comfort you, and to turn those muggles into cockroaches and flush them down the toilet.¡¦ Harry thought that there could not possibly be a greater idea that this¡Kit¡¦s a pity that she had not actually done that. Mrs. Figg was able to make him relax even in such a situation¡KHarry really longed to know the real Arabella Figg.

¡¥But I couldn¡¦t bear to look at you then. You remind me so much of James and Lily. You reminded me of the pain of losing them. ¡¦

¡¥So, you were very close to them?¡¦

¡¥Close? I treat them as my son and daughter.¡¦

¡¥Why?¡¦

¡¥You really know nothing about them, then?¡¦ Mrs. Figg frowned.

They stopped their conversation as three of the searching death eaters were just a few steps away from them. 

¡¥Can they hear us?¡¦ Harry whispered.

¡¥Not if they are whispering. But they might hear us if we shouted.¡¦ Mrs. Figg whispered in return.

The three death eaters slowly moved away from them, but before they completely disappeared from their sight into the brushes, a fourth came and the three death eaters gathered. They conversed for a while, the content of which Harry couldn¡¦t make out. The original three nodded, and the fourth went away again. Then the three death eaters just continued their search like nothing had happened. Harry could no longer see them.

Mrs. Figg slowly stood up and motioned Harry to follow suit.

¡¥They should not be able to look through my line¡Kbut they are plotting something. I¡¦d deal with those death eaters long enough to know.¡¦ Mrs. Figg said in her lowest tone, her eyes all of a sudden seemed to glow in the dark in deep concentration. Her hand extracted her wand from her pocket and held it tightly.

Harry strained his eyes and ears to try to find out what¡¦s wrong. He noticed nothing except that it was quiet¡Ktoo quiet indeed. The footsteps of the death eaters had suddenly all vanished. He tightened his grip on his wand.

¡¥Shieldius!¡¦ Mrs. Figg¡¦s shout broke the silence. Just as a faintly glowing shield was erected around them, at least twenty curses in the form of bright light hit the shield at the same time. It blinded Harry for a moment. After that Harry could see that death eaters ¡V he couldn¡¦t count how many as it was too dark ¡V were surrounding them in every direction and were closing in!

¡¥Go before me! I¡¦ll be right behind you!¡¦ 

Harry needn¡¦t to be told twice. He immediately dashed forward. Although for the briefest moment he doubted whether Mrs. Figg could really follow him. Afterall she was old. However, as Mrs. Figg had said so, Harry believed in her ability.

This time the death eaters were better organized and prepared. They seemed to jump out at them at every direction. Mrs. Figg and Harry would stand no chance against so many death eaters in open space, so they were forced away from their original path and back in the park where there were benches, lamppost and trees for shielding. 

Harry managed to take out two death eaters. Mrs. Figg should have knocked down more than five; Harry was too busy sending every curse he knew to tell. However, the tide of death eaters was endless. _Did Voldemort really hate him so much? _Harry silently pondered. _Why hadn__¡¦t any of them used the killing curse than? Why just not kill him?_ Then Harry regretted that he had allowed his mind to wandered from the battle as a curse hit him full force and sent him crushing to the ground. 

Harry¡¦s legs would not move even an inch no matter how hard he tried. A leg-locker curse! Harry quickly cast a shielding charm around himself then turned his head wildly to find where Mrs. Figg was. She was a good ten meters away where he was sitting and was surrounded by death eaters. Harry knew he had to do something quickly. He performed the counter curse to leg-locker curse but found out in dismay that it didn¡¦t work. The thought that it was no ordinary leg-locker curse hit Harry when pain explored in his legs.

It was a sudden and intense pain. His legs were squeezed by an invisible force¡Kjust like being squeezed by the powerful hand of a giant¡KHarry couldn¡¦t think of anything to do with it as the pain was growing so intense that he could barely keep himself from screaming out loud¡Kbut he had got to stop those approaching death eaters! ¡¥Stupefy! Inpedimenta!¡¦ But his legs would surely be crushed! Harry couldn¡¦t fight the pain anymore and so he fell back down on the ground, squirming in agony and screamed. 

¡¥Finally. He gave us such a lot of trouble.¡¦

The familiar voice found its way into Harry¡¦s ear among his own scream. Luicus Malfoy._ No. I could not let them get me so easily. Mrs. Figg could not hold off so many death eaters by herself! She would be killed!_ Harry tightened his grip on his precious wand. He had to do something...but the pain in his legs was too consuming¡K he was losing consciousness. The pressure on his legs was increased. His scream became louder¡K so was the laughter of the death eaters in the background. 

Finally someone grabbed his shoulder and lifted him up from the ground. But quickly the person released his grip, causing Harry to lose his balance. Then someone caught him before he hit the ground and supported him by slipping his arm firmly around his waist. The pressure in his leg disappeared and the pain subdued. His legs could move again but they were too weak to support his weight. 

With great difficulty, Harry tilted his head and found out with relief that his rescuer was his beloved godfather. 

¡¥Sirius!¡¦

¡¥Could you use your wand still?¡¦

¡¥Yes, I sup¡Ksuppose.¡¦ Harry replied through gritted teeth as the pain in his legs was not completely gone. Sirius scooped Harry up from the ground without another word and Harry tried his best to protect both Sirius and himself from the curses intended for them. They headed towards Mrs. Figg¡¦s house. Mrs. Figg joined their side after a while. 

The death eaters chasing them were growing more and more desperate. Harry kept sending sparks to death eaters ¡V either on broom or on foot ¡V who had come too close to them and he found that it was a simple but effective defense. 

Mrs. Figg¡¦s house was finally in sight. What stood on their path to the house was a row of death eaters and a large scale shielding charm. Mrs. Figg and Sirius knew trouble when they see it ¡V and this shield certainly could qualify as a ¡¥big trouble¡¦. It would be very hard to break through it. Ordinary curses would be repelled ten fold to the caster. That¡¦s why Sirius yelled in alarm when Harry, who knew nothing about such powerful shields, raised his wand.

¡¥Reducio!¡¦

¡¥Harry, don¡¦t ¡V¡¦

Both of them shouted at the same time. Harry wanted very much to get rid of the death eaters. He had meant to try his luck with the shield and did not really believe that it could work. So he was as startled and surprised as Sirius and Mrs. Figg when the shield did break down upon contact with his reducio curse. The death eaters standing in their way were also blasted off. But surely it was not the time to be impressed by his little success. ¡¥Sirius, we¡¦ve got to go!¡¦ Harry said to his wide-eyed Godfather who stood transfixed. With a little shake of his head, Sirius continued to run towards the house with Harry in his arms. Sirius exchanged a brief glance with Mrs. Figg with the same thought on their mind.

After a little struggle with the keys, the front door of the house was opened then closed. The three of them _finally_ get into the house, but they were not out of danger yet. 

¡¥Upstairs. The first room to the left.¡¦

Mrs. Figg turned to tap her wand at the door murmuring something that Harry didn¡¦t know and couldn¡¦t hear as Sirius swiftly carried him up the stairs and into the room as Mrs. Figg instructed.

Sirius gently lowered Harry on the floor and then also sat down himself. Both panted heavily for breath. It was dark in the room as there was no illumination. All Harry could make out were the faint outlines of many boxes ¡V it seemed like a storage room to him. 

The door to the room opened and Mrs. Figg came in. She closed the door behind her. ¡¥Sirius, clear it up a bit for me and light the fire.¡¦ Mrs. Figg¡¦s voice was surprisingly steady.

Sirius once again struggled up and levitated the boxes aside and piled them up against the wall. ¡¥Incendio.¡¦ The fire made Harry realize for the first time that there was a fireplace. Also he discovered that there was a closed window at the wall opposite to the fireplace.

Mrs. Figg had not let herself rest either. She paced around the room and tapped her wand at the wall randomly, or at least it seemed so to Harry. Finally Mrs. Figg stopped and met Harry¡¦s gaze. 

¡¥I¡¦m an expertise at protection ward, actually. I¡¦ve strengthened the protection of this room so that they won¡¦t discover us ¡V they shouldn¡¦t be able to detect our position¡K but they managed with _my_ protection line back then, didn¡¦t they? How could they¡K?¡¦

¡¥Arabella, it¡¦s not the time for grumbling. We have to go.¡¦ Frowning deeply, Sirius interrupted and Mrs. Figg nodded.

¡¥Harry, take out the floo powder I gave you. You go first to Hogwarts.¡¦

Harry really wanted to follow her instruction. However, he didn¡¦t even manage to stand. When he attempted to move his legs, an excruciating pain shot through his legs. He cried out and clutched his legs tightly. Sirius was quickly on his side and examined his legs carefully.

¡¥Those bastards¡K they had broken your legs¡Kat least cracked your bones.¡¦ Sirius scowled. Mrs. Figg also knelt down besides Harry. ¡¥Now¡KI need to mend your bone. It¡¦d be painful and it¡¦s only temporary. You¡¦ll have to let Madame Pomfrey heal it. ¡¦ Harry nodded grimly and held on tightly to Sirius¡¦s hand as Mrs. Figg pointed her wand to his legs, anticipating the pain to come at any moment. 

¡¥Relax, Harry. Tensing your muscles won¡¦t help a bit¡Kyes, you¡¦re doing better¡Kwe¡¦ve got to give those damn death eaters a good kick in the ass, don¡¦t you think so?¡¦

Harry was amused and nodded faintly, then yelled when Mrs. Figg performed the spell without warning. Mrs. Figg had not been kidding when she said that it would be painful¡Kit was _very_ painful indeed.

¡¥Hey! Why didn¡¦t you warn me first? ¡¦ the pain made Harry forget to be polite to the elderly.

¡¥I¡¦ve to distract you from it. And I succeeded, didn¡¦t I?¡¦ Harry eyed her warily.

¡¥OK, don¡¦t give me that look!¡¦ Mrs. Figg held up her hands in surrender. Sirius watched their exchange with mild interest as he gently pulled Harry up from the floor. Harry could barely stand at first. The pain was still there and his legs were still feeble, but he thought that he would manage for a while. 

¡¥You know, Arabella,¡¦ said Sirius, ¡¥You really should act your age¡Kyou really should. At least in front of our young man here.¡¦

¡¥What? I¡¦m not that old!¡¦ she fixed Sirius with a reproving glare. 

Harry, with Sirius at his side guiding him carefully, walked tentatively towards the fireplace. After throwing a pinch of floo powder, the fire turned green instantly. 

¡¥Hogwarts!¡¦ Harry shouted, and then closed his eyes tightly before moving towards the fire.

¡¥NO!!!¡¦ both Sirius and Arabella shouted at the same time just as Harry¡¦s legs were about to make contact with the fire and at the same time someone ¡V it should be Sirius considering the strengthen ¡V pulled Harry abruptly from the fire. Harry snapped his eyes open and was puzzled to see that the fire had suddenly roared very high ¡V right to the ceiling ¡V and turned a blinding white. It then slowly turned back to its original fierceness and colour. Harry leaned against Sirius¡¦ body and clasped the cloth of his shirt tightly. His legs would give away at any moment. 

¡¥What¡¦s happening?¡¦ Harry asked, his voice slightly quivering. He studied the expression on Mrs. Figg¡¦s face, then he looked up at Sirius. Both of them showed a moment of surprise and disbelief, then it turned into distress. 

¡¥I can¡¦t believe this¡Kthey¡¦ve blocked the floo network! They¡¦ve disconnected the fireplace of this house from the network,¡¦ Sirius answered Harry question, ¡¥but of course, loads of death eaters worked in the ministry¡Kbut that means they know of your role in Harry¡¦s protection.¡¦ Sirius turned to Mrs. Figg and she nodded grimly. Then she also voiced her opinion. ¡¥ Not to forget the disconnection does not take a short time¡Kand I think that they not only have disconnected it from the network, but also connected it to a specific place so that the only place we could end up in would be their lair.¡¦

When the meaning of their word sank in, Harry realized that Voldemort really had planned this attack with utmost care. He had allowed him no chance of escape. And now Mrs. Figg and Sirius were stuck here with him¡K¡¥What¡KWhat about apparition? Can you two¡K¡¦ Harry thought that he ought to say something to distract himself from the guilt, or else it would engulf him¡K

¡¥Yes, we can.¡¦ Mrs. Figg said while staring into the innocently cracking fire in the fireplace. ¡¥We can bring you with us too¡Kif only there was no apparition ward, which lasts 1 km from your house. If somehow, miraculously, we manage to get beyond the ward with all the death eaters chasing us, then perhaps we can ¡V ¡¦

She stopped her word and looked up from the fire suddenly, and seemed to be listening intently for voices which Harry couldn¡¦t hear. Harry felt that Sirius¡¦ grip on his shoulder tightened. ¡¥They had gotten past the front door.¡¦ Mrs. Figg whispered to herself. Shouts and footsteps could be heard from the floor below. 

¡¥If they fail to find us, they may as well blow up the house.¡¦ Sirius said while watching Mrs. Figg pacing to and fro about the room. No matter how hard he tried, Sirius just could not think of a way to get them safely away from all these. Apparently the death eaters also knew that they could not hold up for too long and that time should not be given to them to formulate any sensible plans.

None of the three people in the room had expected it to happen so fast. With a loud crash, the door to the room was knocked off from its hinge. Several darkly robed figures prepared to break into the room. Sirius was the first to spring into action. He left Harry¡¦s side and picked up the door from the floor, then held it up to the doorframe before any of the death eaters got in. ¡¥Reparo!¡¦ he tapped his wand against the door and it is hinged again. Sirius had to lean his back against the door and push with all his strength so that the death eaters who were furiously knocking the door by their bodies could not get in. At this desperate moment, both the attackers and the defender had temporarily given up using magic.

Mrs. Figg was running to Sirius¡¦ aid when the window to the room was shattered. Harry, who was sitting helplessly on the floor because his legs could no longer support his weight, watched in horror as the death eater on broom raised his wand towards him.

¡¥Avada Kedavra!¡¦ the tone of the death eater sounded bitterly triumphant to Harry. A jet of green light emerged from the tip of his wand. Many thoughts flashed through Harry¡¦s mind ¡V _I should dodge. I should run. I should levitate myself _¡V but all he could do was to sit paralyzed on the floor. ¡¥NO!!!!!!!!¡¦ someone shouted. But it did not matter to Harry anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. Finally he could escape from all these. He closed his eyes. Maybe he could reunite with his parents finally. It seemed painless to die¡Kor was he really dying?

Something¡K_someone_ fell on Harry. Harry¡¦s heart froze. Dread filled his body as he slowly and reluctantly opened his eyes and looked down upon the silvery hair on the head of the old lady who was lying motionless in his arms. 

_No._

_It__¡¦s not happening_, he told himself.

_No. _

_Not again._

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the end of another chapter¡Kand if you bother to read till this line, then please do one step more ¡V click the review button and leave a short review so that I know how can I improve¡K and don¡¦t hesitate to give me any suggestions because I honestly don¡¦t have much idea on how to continue this¡Kif anyone do want this to be continued, please review.


	7. 'Why...?'

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belong to their respective owners.

A/N Thanks for the few people who reviewed. These reviews keep me going¡K

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Chapter 7 ¡¥Why¡K?¡¦

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_Harry opened his emerald eyes. The first thing he noticed was the throbbing pain in his lightening-bolt scar._

_It meant **Danger. **_

_It meant that You-Know-Who was near._

_It meant that he was captured finally, despite all their effort to try to escape, despite the death of the old lady whom Harry had known of all his life but had just started to **really know her. Harry¡¦s heart writhed painfully at the thought of Mrs. Figg. Why had she been so stupid? Why had she jumped in front of him? He was not worth it. He was ****definitely not worth it. Another life¡Kanother life ****gone because of him. What had he done to deserve the sacrifice of so many innocent people? What had they done to deserve such a ****meaningless death? Why hadn¡¦t they just let him die? Why bother to save his life? He was just a worthless boy. He would not meet up to the expectation of anyone. **_

_And if he was captured, would that meant Sirius had also¡KNO. He stopped himself. He could not bear the thought that his godfather had died. He could not live with the thought that his godfather, his only remaining family, had died because of **him**. _

_Several faint ¡¥ pop¡¦s behind him made Harry stood up. And for the first time he noticed himself was in a large and dark chamber. Several death eaters who had just apparated behind him walked pass him and knelt down in front of a throne¡Kbut there was no one sitting there. _

Why had they ignored him? Harry pondered silently. Suddenly the pain in Harry¡¦s scar intensified. He clutched at his scar tightly and looked at the throne again ¡V there sat the most feared dark lord of the century ¡V Voldemort. And apparently he was not in a good mood. He glared at each of the death eaters in turn with his red eyes. But why was him acting as if Harry was not there?

_¡¥Where is the boy?¡¦ He hissed. ¡¥Have I not told you not to return unless you get him in your hands?¡¦_

_No one dared to answer._

_¡¥I¡¦ve planned everything. I¡¦ve planned everything so close to perfection ¡V except that I¡¦ve overestimated your power. I¡¦ve overestimated your ability.¡¦_

_¡¥But my Lord, you don¡¦t know¡Kwe haven¡¦t thought that the boy¡¦s power would be so great¡Kand Figg and Black were in the way ¡V ¡¦_

_¡¥**I want no excuses!**¡¦ Voldemort bellowed and the death eaters bowed their head even lower. ¡¥And Avery, I wanted you to bring the boy back **alive. Why did you try to use the killing curse on him?¡¦**_

¡¥I¡KI haven¡¦t¡Kno¡KI¡KI was just¡K ¡¦ 

_¡¥Crucio.¡¦_

_Avery¡¦s scream mingled with Harry¡¦s own as pain exploded in his scar. The world blacked out._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

After taking a cup of coffee from the innkeeper, Sirius went to the bathroom of the small room he rented in a small street in London. He splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to clear his mind and to keep it awake. He had got to be alert. He didn¡¦t bother to look into the mirror ¡V he didn¡¦t really want to know how awful he looked then. 

Sipping his coffee slowly, Sirius resumed the place he had been taking for nearly ten hours ¡V the bedside chair of the only small bed in this room. The occupant of the bed was sleeping, not very soundly though, out of extreme exhaustion both physically and mentally. Sirius put down the paper cup on the bedside table and again observed his beloved godson with his pale blue eyes full of sorrow. He gently brushed the stray strand of wild black hair backward from his forehead. The lightening bolt scar stood clearly out of his pale and otherwise smooth skin. It reminded Sirius once again of the tragic past¡K it pained him more that the boy he had sworn to protect had once more been wounded deeply in his heart. And Arabella was gone¡K she was his aunt¡K James¡¦ and his mentor¡K a dear friend¡Kit should have been him, but not her. Never her. What happened thirteen hours ago still stood too vividly in his mind.

Sirius would never forget the despair he felt as he saw the killing curse sped towards Harry. Sirius knew he could do nothing ¡V he would not be fast enough ¡V but his reasoning had already left him. 

¡¥NO!!!!!!!!!¡¦ he cried out and he lunged towards Harry. _Move! Get out of the curse¡¦s way! His mind screamed at Harry, but then Harry had closed his eyes and sat motionlessly on the floor. __He wants to give up! No! How could he! Fight it! Don¡¦t let it get you! _

Sirius knew that he could never make it there in time¡Kbut someone was faster. He could do nothing but watch as the frail body of Arabella was hit directly by the curse and then her body fell and crushed into Harry. 

Sirius could certainly never clear that image out of his head ¡V the expression of pure anguish on Harry¡¦s face the moment when he reluctantly opened his eyes, already knowing what he would face, but totally unable and refused to accept it. His usually bright green eyes darkened as he trembled all over and tried very hard to push the body on top of him away. Then he flung himself on the floor, burying his head completely in his arms. Sirius had then finally reached Harry¡¦s side. He couldn¡¦t bring himself to look at his aunt¡¦s body. He could not bear to see the hollow expression in those usually cheerful eyes. He gathered Harry up in one arm and cursed the first few death eaters that had gotten in the room. 

¡¥_BASTARD!_¡¦ he roared. _Whoever did this will pay. Rage was building up inside of him, threatening to burst through the surface¡K and he didn¡¦t bother to maintain it. He let it all out through his wand. The moment a death eater stepped into the room, he would had him rolling on the floor in pain. Then he turned to the murderer who was still hovering outside, stunned by the power displayed by Sirius. _

¡¥ACCIO!¡¦

The broom but not his rider flew directly into Sirius¡¦ waiting hand. The rider screamed as he fell down onto the ground with a loud crash. Sirius had not sent a killing curse to the ground on where the murderer lay in blood to make sure that he was really dead because his instinct to protect Harry kicked in. Sirius mounted the broom and secured Harry¡¦s numb body in front of him with one hand then took off from the window. Harry eventually turned unconscious.

Sirius had had a lot of troubles with the death eaters chasing Harry and him, nevertheless he managed to get rid of the death eaters and get safely to an inn in London after flying for three hours. Sirius knew he ought to contact Remus and Dumbledore, and that he should bring Harry to a safer place such as Hogwarts, but it was the farthest he could get with the unconscious Harry without falling off the broom ¡V he was exhausted. 

Sirius knew the death eaters were still hot on their trail, so he had not dared to leave Harry¡¦s side for more than three minutes since they got there. And he had to make sure that he would be there when Harry wakes up ¡V he didn¡¦t want Harry to face the aftermath of the horrible ordeal alone.

Harry stirred in his sleep. Sirius quickly got to his side. He thought that Harry was waking, but he was not. He seemed to be having a dream. Then he started to thrash about on the bed. Sirius shook Harry¡¦s shoulder gently. 

¡¥Harry, wake up!¡¦ Sirius increased his force applied on Harry¡¦s shoulder as cold sweat appeared on Harry¡¦s forehead and he shivered. 

_He was having a nightmare! Perhaps one of those connected to Voldemort! _

¡¥Harry! It¡¦s a dream! Wake up! ¡¦ Sirius shouted more frantically but Harry just plainly refused to open his eyes. He shivered more violently and screamed, his hand shakily reached up to clutch at his scar. Sirius continued to shake him. Again Sirius felt the same hopelessness and despair. He could do nothing. Nothing at all to help his godson.

¡¥Open you eyes! Harry! OPEN YOUR EYES FOR ME!!¡¦ Harry snapped open his panic-stricken eyes and tried to get up, but was restricted by Sirius¡¦ firm grip. Harry kept screaming and kicking madly to free himself and there was a wild look on his face. 

¡¥Harry! It¡¦s a dream!¡¦ Sirius clapped his hand firmly on Harry¡¦s mouth to silence him. Harry¡¦s scream was muffled. Then slowly he stopped to scream or struggle and regained a bit of his calmness. Sirius released his grip and Harry gasped heavily for breath. When Harry¡¦s breath became more normal, Sirius slided his arm under Harry¡¦s back to help him to sit up.

¡¥Sirius¡K¡¦ Harry said as he raised his head to look at his godfather. ¡¥I¡¦ve a dream¡Ka nightmare. I saw Voldemort¡K Mrs. Figg was killed¡K You were not with me. Tell me,¡¦ Harry grabbed Sirius¡¦ hand tightly, ¡¥tell me that it was all a dream.¡¦ Sirius¡¦ heart ached painfully at the sight of his pleading eyes. No matter how badly he wanted all this to be a dream, Sirius could not change what had happened. Not even for his godson. However, it would be so cruel of him to confirm Harry¡¦s worst fear. How could he do it? 

¡¥Sirius¡K¡¦ Harry¡¦s grip on his hand tightened, his shaky voice indicating that he was close to tears.

¡¥Harry, you have to face it.¡¦ Sirius tried to keep his voice as steady as possible and looked Harry directly at the eye. ¡¥Arabella Figg is dead.¡¦

Harry¡¦s hand released their grip and fell down numbly at his side. Tears filled his emerald eyes quickly. Sirius knew that Harry¡¦s world was collapsing. He swiftly engulfed Harry in a tight hug with his strong arms. 

¡¥Why¡K¡¦ Harry said broken-heartedly between sobs. ¡¥Why hadn¡¦t she just let me die? Why? Why¡K¡¦

¡¥It¡¦s not your fault.¡¦ Sirius rocked Harry¡¦s shaking body gently. ¡¥If it is anybody¡¦s fault, it¡¦s Voldemort¡¦s. It¡¦s mine. It should have been me, not her. ¡¦ ¡¥NO!!¡¦ Harry yelled in a horrified voice and slipped his arms around Sirius¡¦ back and held onto him with all his strength. ¡¥I¡¦ve lost¡K too much¡KI can¡¦t¡Kcan¡¦t afford to lose you¡K¡¦

¡¥Nor do I, Harry. Nor do I ¡K¡¦

¡¥But Sirius¡KI barely start to know her¡Kshe¡K she felt guilty about not taking me¡K she¡K I ¡K why it had to turn out like this? Why? Sirius, Why?¡¦ Sirius had no answer for his godson¡¦s desperate question. He knew that Harry understood better than anybody on how life is _unfair_¡Kbut it was just too harsh for Harry. Sirius didn¡¦t understand himself¡K if there really is a God out there, why had He let all those innocent people suffer and die? Why had He let all those devil roam the earth still? All the people and things Sirius valued so much had all slipped away from him like water in his hand that he could not hold¡Khe had tried¡Khe had tried his best¡K so had Harry¡K but it was not enough.

Harry had fallen asleep again out of exhaustion. Sirius eased him carefully back onto the bed. The face of Harry seemed so pale¡K Sirius placed his thumb on Harry¡¦s tear stained face and wiped the tears gently away. ¡¥James, Lily, if you are out there somewhere, protect your son.¡¦ Sirius whispered. His vision blurred and he suddenly felt a trail of wetness went down his face. He automatically reached up and felt the wetness¡K He was crying. 

¡¥Arabella¡Kat least now you are with James and Lily again¡K¡¦ he covered his eyes with his hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

--Half an hour after Arabella Figg¡¦s death¡X 

A young auror, Douglas Anderson, had just finished questioning the muggle Vernon Dursley on what happened and the whereabouts of Harry Potter. He and twenty more aurors had been sent to this area when the ministry knew of the attack. It puzzled everyone greatly on why the alarm had not gone off the moment death eaters stepped near the house where Harry Potter lived. And it caused panic to raise in every one of them ¡V the twenty aurors sent there ¡V when they discovered that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was nowhere to be find. They reported it to the ministry instantly and started the search without another moment of delay. It made Douglas¡¦ head hurt as he thought of what would appear on the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning.

He had volunteered to interrogate the muggle, and regretted slightly as he discovered what kind of person the muggle was. And not to mention that Harry Potter lived with this muggle¡K maybe Harry Potter could not tolerate this muggle anymore and just ran away? But the damage done to this house and the surrounding area suggested otherwise.

The muggle had not been very cooperative, nevertheless he told Douglas all he had witnessed moments before Harry¡¦s departure from the house. And indeed it was very strange. A tall man in muggle clothes with shoulder length black hair and pale blue eyes had led Potter out of the house. The weirdest part was that the description of the man fitted those of the infamous murderer, Sirius Black. However it just did not make sense. Why would _the _Harry Potter go with the man who betrayed his parents? Or why would Sirius Black, who were said to long to kill Harry Potter, help him escape? It did not make sense at all!

Or was something not what it seemed? Douglas had learnt through his six years experience as an auror that the Ministry was not faultless. In fact it had made too many mistakes since Fudge had became the minister. The most recent one was his refusal to accept that You-Know-Who had indeed returned. And this is obvious now, isn¡¦t it? Death eaters would not all of a sudden gather and attack in such a large scale. You-Know-Who must be behind them.

¡¥Douglas.¡¦

A familiar voice rang behind him. He turned and was surprised to find that Albus Dumbledore was standing behind him. ¡¥Professor Dumbledore? What a surprise to meet you here!¡¦ Dumbledore smiled politely in return. He had scarcely changed since Douglas graduated from Hogwarts eight years ago. He was still the tall and lean old man with his white and almost silvery beard tugged in his belt. His usual radiant of power, however , seemed a little dulled and the smile on his ancient face was a bit wary¡Kbut of course¡Kwhy wouldn¡¦t he be sober after something like this had happened?

¡¥It had been a long time since we last met each other¡KI was glad to hear that you had been doing very well, Douglas¡Kbut let¡¦s talk about the more urgent matter first. Can you tell me about what the Dursley had told you?¡¦ Douglas nodded. Although it was against the policy to tell someone out of the Ministry about such thing, Douglas knew Dumbledore was their only hope in finding where Harry Potter was. He was their only hope in defeating You-Know-Who.

¡¥I see¡K¡¦ after telling Dumbledore all he knew, Douglas suddenly found himself under the piercing gaze from the sapphire blue eyes of Dumbledore. 

¡¥Douglas, am I right in thinking that you are on _our_ side?¡¦ 

The seriousness in Dumbledore¡¦s tone made Douglas stop to think for a moment. What Dumbledore was asking for was no laughing matter¡Konce he gave him the affirmative answer, it would mean absolute commitment and even greater risks. However, such things certainly could not make him back down.

¡¥Of course.¡¦ 

¡¥Follow me then.¡¦

Without another word, Dumbledore walked towards Dursley¡¦s house. He went straight to the front door and knocked. Douglas waited at his side.

¡¥What do you want now?¡¦ the furious voice of Mr. Dursley rang behind the door and then the door was swung open. When he found that it was Dumbledore who stood outside, his anger seemed a little subdued and was replaced by something else¡V he was afraid of him. He tried to hide his fear.

¡¥I have told all I know to that man.¡¦ Vernon pointed at Douglas. ¡¥I¡¦ve nothing more to tell! Leave us alone!¡¦ Douglas could see that Mrs. Dursley and her son were just standing behind Mr. Dursley. ¡¥I¡¦m Albus Dumbledore. Surely you know who I am?¡¦ Dumbledore ignored Mr. Dursley¡¦s protest. ¡¥Now¡Kcan Mrs. Dursley and Dudley also step forward?¡¦ at the mention of their names, the two of them walked closer to the door to see why they were called.

What followed left Douglas stared at Dumbledore with his eyes widened. With a speed that was simply too fast for a man so old, Dumbledore took out his wand and pointed it at the Dursleys. ¡¥Obliviate.¡¦ The Dursleys did not even have the time to show their surprise at being held at wand point when the curse hit all three of them. They showed the standard reactions to being hit by a memory curse. They seemed to be disoriented for a moment. Then while murmuring something under their breath, they turned and walked back into their house. Dumbledore closed the front door for them. 

¡¥Why did you do that?¡¦ after a long while, Douglas finally had himself under control and asked. 

¡¥I removed their memory about meeting Sirius Black. I suppose that you have not told anybody about that?¡¦

¡¥I have not. ¡¦

¡¥Then I want to be assured that no one else except the two of us knew that Sirius Black had been here tonight. And also no one else should know about what I¡¦m about to tell you, at least not without my consent. ¡¦

Douglas nodded solemnly. His heartbeat quickened a little in anticipation.

¡¥Please don¡¦t intercept until I finish. The murder of thirteen people the day after James and Lily Potter¡¦s death was not committed by Sirius Black. The murderer was Peter Pettigrew. ¡¦ 

Douglas wasn¡¦t sure if he was dreaming or not.

¡¥Maybe I can tell you in detail if you want later, but I can only let you have a brief idea now. Peter was in fact the one who betrayed the Potters and told Voldemort the whereabouts of them. He was cornered by Sirius after James and Lily¡¦s death and then in order to escape from justice and to keep himself alive, he faked his own death and killed thirteen people. Then he fled, leaving Sirius to be blamed about the murder he had not committed. Without a trial, Sirius was sent to Azkaban. I had only known of his innocent a year ago when he escaped Azkaban and came to Hogwarts. Sirius is now protecting Harry from the death eaters.¡¦

Dumbledore paused. And Douglas took this chance to voice his opinion. ¡¥It¡¦s hard to believe.¡¦

¡¥I know.¡¦

¡¥But I believe you. And what do you want me to do by telling me this?¡¦

¡¥Ah, exactly to the point. This is one of the things that I appreciate about you¡Kthere are two things that I need you to do for me. Firstly, whenever you catch wind of where Sirius and Harry are, please get there as soon as possible and give them a hand.¡¦

Douglas knew that Dumbledore wanted him to prevent Sirius Black from being arrested by aurors.

¡¥Secondly, I want you to keep an eye out for Peter. He is now working for Voldemort ¡V surely you know about the resurrection of Voldemort? ¡V and one of his hand is replaced by a silver hand. If circumstances allow, catch him and bring him to me.¡¦

¡¥I will.¡¦

Dumbledore patted the shoulder of the younger man gently. ¡¥I¡¦ve to get going¡Klots of things have to be done. I guess you¡¦re pretty busy yourself. See you later.¡¦

Douglas watched as Dumbledore walk a few steps away from him, then stopped and turned to him again. 

¡¥Douglas, I appreciate what you¡¦re going to do for me and for the wizarding world.¡¦

Douglas nodded as Dumbledore disappeared with a faint ¡¥pop¡¦.

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If you are wondering, the apparition ward around Harry¡¦s house is lifted as he is no longer there. Nothing much happened, I guess¡Khopefully more will happen in the next chapter. Finally PLEASE REVIEW!


	8. Their Paths Cross (Finally)

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

A/N1 WELL, I GOT SO FEW REVIEWS. Why? Was it because my fic is bad? If it is so, you can tell me by reviewing! Does it mean that no one is reading this?? I was so happy a few days ago when I received the results of my public exams. It was far better than I had dared to hope! I would be even happier if more of you can kindly review! 

A/N 2 This is the whole chapter 8! Enjoy and review! And special thanks to dodo who reviewed twice! I really thank you very much. It means a lot to me as you want to fly here all the way from France just to get me continue! I, of course, know that you were joking, but it still was a great encouragement!( As to where I live, you can get a clue by looking at my email.)

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Chapter 8 Their Paths Cross (Finally)

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Haruka walked aimlessly on a street of London. It was a sunny afternoon when glorious daylight fell upon the plate- glass shop windows and upon the thousands of people scurrying busily about the business of the day. Usually walking among so many people only made Haruka felt more lonely through she is surrounded by people, none of them walk along with her, chat with her, none of them share her view, or even truly aware of her existence. To them, she was but another pedestrian. 

It still puzzled her slightly on why she decided to come here¡K maybe it was because life itself had become less meaningful to her day by day. It had been years since the last battle with Galaxia. Everyone seemed to get in well with life¡K everyone but her. They truly embrace the peace they had been fighting so long for. And they all seemed to find new purposes of life¡K it was her, Haruka, who still couldn¡¦t¡¦t truly move on. Yes, she had been a professional racer and pianist, but she just still felt that something was missing. It was not enough. It was not like that she preferred battling with all those demons and devil, but without such battles her life was empty. Maybe it was in her destiny and nature to fight constantly¡Khowever, she had been tired of it, hadn¡¦t her?

She had been lost. She had been struggling for a new purpose in life for years.

The dream on that night more than two months ago brought a new beam of light into her fogged heart. She had a feeling that this was what she¡¦d been waiting for ¡V a new journey, a new adventure, a chance to reconsider. A new purpose. It absolutely bewildered her that she had trusted the two ghosts that visited her in her dream¡Kit might be their sincerity and their love for their son that persuaded her to go to England from Japan. 

It took her two months before actually stepping on the English ground because on the first few weeks after the strange encounter, she had been pondering, arguing with herself on whether she should trust them. Although it seemed a tempting chance for her, deep in her heart she feared that if all this was a lie, she would be hopelessly disappointed. It had been a full month and a half before she made up her mind and asked herself how she was going to help them. And she decided to seek a way to meet them again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**_--Two weeks ago, in Japan--_**

Haruka stopped her favourite blue Ferrari beside the road. She got out of the car and locked it securely before going up the stairs that led to the temple. Rei, dressed in the traditional custom of the temple ¡V a white shirt and a red trousers ¡V was already there at the door waiting for her. 

¡¥Haruka! How are you?¡¦

¡¥I¡¦m fine. Thanks for agreeing to help, Rei.¡¦

They greeted each other as Rei led Haruka into the inner room.

No need to thank me, really. We¡¦ve known each other too long and too well for such kind of things, don¡¦t you think so?¡Khere, have a tea first.¡¦

Haruka knelt down in front of the table and muttered a small thank before taking the warm cup from Rei and inhaled deeply the fragrance of the tea before sipping it slowly. They conversed a while on how the others were doing recently before moving on to discuss the purpose of this visit. 

¡¥ So¡Kwhat kind of spirits do you want me to contact?¡¦ Rei picked up a red ribbon on the table and used it to tie up her long silky black hair while gazing at Haruka attentively.

Haruka felt a bit hesitant. She didn¡¦t¡¦t know what she was getting herself into¡Kbut it was not in her to retreat from danger. And she had already contemplated it for too long. 

¡¥They were two British ghosts whose names are James Potter and Lily Potter. They are married to each other. And¡Kand they told me that they were¡K¡¦ it seemed really ridiculous to say that they were wizard and witch, but as Haruka and Rei themselves possessed such kind of immense and unusual power, why can¡¦t there be more people with such power? ¡¥¡Kwizard and witch. They knew how to use magic.¡¦ Rei widened her eyes. She was not sure if she had heard Haruka correctly, but she was certain that Haruka was not joking. ¡¥And they told me that in fact there were many of them out there who possess such kind of magical power. They formed a secret society and prevent ordinary people from knowing their existence¡K but we can talk about it later. Could you reach them?¡¦

Rei nodded.¡¥ I think I can with their names¡K but would you mind if I ask why you want to find them?¡Kand how did you know of them?¡¦

¡¥They visited me in my dream once. They asked me to do something for them. We were interrupted. I want to see them and ask them more about what they asked me to do .¡¦

Rei nodded once again. ¡¥I see¡K please follow me then.¡¦ She saw that Haruka was unwilling to tell her about these spirits. Maybe she didn¡¦t¡¦t want her to get involved? Rei thought as she led Haruka into another room, which was a lot larger than the previous one. She closed the door behind her. 

It was dark in the room as there were no windows. A small candle was the only source of light in the room. One could see that the floor on the center of the room was darkened ¡V someone had burnt something there. 

Haruka stood patiently as Rei moved several pieces of wood piled against the wall on that darkened floor and lit them. The fire burnt brightly after a short while. Rei knelt in front of the fire and motioned Haruka to kneel beside her. Haruka noticed that the light of the fire caused eerie shadows on Rei¡¦s face. 

Rei started to chant with an incredible speed with words which Haruka couldn¡¦t¡¦t understand, then threw something into the fore and it immediately rose up and burn more fiercely. Rei spoke with a voice unlike the usual one in a solemn manner. ¡¥The sacred fire! Please summon the spirits of James and Lily Potter here!¡¦

Nothing happened at first. Then Haruka suddenly felt that the atmosphere of the room changed abruptly. Despite the closeness of the cracking fire, Haruka felt a freezing chill was building up inside of her. Gradually other features of the room faded¡Kshe couldn¡¦t¡¦t see Rei anymore. It seemed that the room was filled with a thick white mist. Haruka realized with a jolt that this scene was familiar¡K

¡¥Mr. Potter? Mrs. Potter? Are you here?¡¦ she said in a tone slightly louder than a whisper as she stood up.

¡¥Dear, please call us James and Lily.¡¦ The familiar soft voice rang behind Haruka and she turned around. There stood, or rather floated the faintly glowing spirits James and Lily Potter. How well Haruka had remembered their appearance ¡V the unruly and wild black hair on James¡¦ head, and the bright emerald eyes of Lily that seemed to shine like the most beautiful star.

Haruka was at a loss of words because there was so much that she longed to ask. Where should she start?

¡¥Your friend¡¦s spiritual power is strong. However, we cannot be summoned for too long¡Kno matter how, we¡¦ve to thank you first. I take it as you are willing to help our son for you want to meet us again.¡¦ James said to Haruka and smiled warmly at her. Haruka nodded return. ¡¥I¡¦ll try my best. I can¡¦t tell you for sure that I¡¦ll succeed¡Kbut I want to try. So, tell me, exactly how the man ¡V Voldemort ¡V can be defeated? Does he have any weakness?¡¦

¡¥I¡¦m not sure that if Voldemort had any weakness.¡¦ Lily said with a slight frown, ¡¥ The last time he was defeated¡Kno, that can¡¦t be called ¡§defeated¡¨¡Khe was badly hurt because when he attempted to kill my son, I stopped in the way. He killed me, but then the love I have for my son invoked a certain kind of ancient magic. It somehow protected Harry when the evil man turned to kill him. But it was not all that prevent Harry from being killed. It was also because Harry was powerful even as a baby. The exact reason actually we don¡¦t know¡K¡¦

¡¥You, along with Harry, have to find the weapon that can destroy Voldemort completely. ¡¦ James continued, 'Only the combined power of Harry and you can do this. Only when you are together can the soul of our ancestor, Godric Gryffindor, be awakened and grant you his power stored in a crystal called the Heart of Purity ¡V ¡¦

Lily raised her head sharply and caught James¡¦ arm while frowning at him. ¡¥Are you sure that we should tell them about this instead of the ¡V ¡¦

¡¥Yes, Lily.¡¦ James said with a tone allowing no room for discussion. Haruka watched their exchange a bit nervously ¡V what are they trying to hide from her? And why¡K

¡¥All we can tell her now is that much.¡¦ James turned and looked at Haruka once again. ¡¥Haruka, the rest is for you to find out.¡¦

Haruka felt a slight spark of panic rose inside her. ¡¥But¡Kwhere can I find the soul of your ancestor? I¡¦ve no idea¡K¡¦

¡¥I¡¦m really sorry to say that, but it is necessary for you to find it out yourself¡Kor else he won¡¦t grant you the power.¡¦ Lily said softly and gently held Haruka¡¦s hand with her translucent one. It was one of the most peculiar feel Haruka had ever experienced¡K Lily¡¦s hand felt cold but tender¡Kit soothed her panic slowly. 

The mist around was turning less dense than before, Haruka suddenly realized. Their meeting would soon come to an end. There was still so much which Haruka didn¡¦t¡¦t understand.

¡¥Why me?¡¦ Haruka said with a note of urgency in her voice. This perhaps was what she wanted most to know. ¡¥Why me out of all of us? I mean I am not the most powerful one among us. I ¡K¡¦

Lily squeezed her hand gently to stop her. 

¡¥It¡¦s because we are related.¡¦

The voice of Lily seemed more distant then before. ¡¥We are related in a way that you don¡¦t know yet¡K it is hard to explain¡K¡¦

Their faintly glowing bodies dulled. The black hair of James had paled to a light shade of grey. _Don__¡¦t leave me yet! Thought Haruka in dismay._

¡¥And we know that this is also an opportunity for you to reconsider¡K what you really want¡K what your goal is¡K¡¦

Haruka could no longer hold onto Lily¡¦s comforting hand. 

¡¥Wait!¡¦

¡¥Please go to him¡K save him¡K guard him for us¡K¡¦

¡@

¡@

¡¥WAIT!¡¦ Haruka opened her eyes. Had she fallen asleep? Why was she lying on the floor? She struggled up and found out that she was still in the same room. And Rei was still kneeling with the same position as before and was looking at her. The fire had burnt out.

¡¥Sorry¡K but that was the limit of my power¡K ¡¦

¡¥No.¡¦ Haruka extended her hand and helped Rei up. ¡¥ It¡¦s enough. Thank you so much. ¡¦

**************************************

Before Haruka got in her car, Rei stopped her. 

¡¥Haruka, I want you to remember that whenever you need help, you can always seek it from us.¡¦

Haruka nodded. ¡¥I know.¡¦

¡¥Goodbye then,¡¦ said Rei, ¡¥ and good luck.¡¦ 

_(A/N Just pretend that the two of them had been conversing in Japanese, OK?^^;)_

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_(here is the next half!)_

After the meeting with James and Lily, Haruka settled all the business at hand. Without much explanation to her friends, she packed and got on a plane for London. She got there at roughly midnight and was so exhausted that she had slept until noon at a small hotel. And now she was wondering on a street of London. She had to figure a way to get to Harry¡¦s home¡Kbut then it suddenly hit her that she did not know about how Harry looks¡K she could only hope that he looks like James and Lily. But perhaps she really should get something to eat first ¡V it¡¦s nearly four o¡¦clock and she was starving.

Then she walked and walked and walked. There didn¡¦t seem to be any restaurants or fast food shops at all¡KHaruka stopped at the middle of the street just next to the wall of a house and surveyed the area again. 

Where exactly had she wandered to? Just as she asked herself in desperation, someone emerged from a door suddenly and knocked into Haruka. She nearly lost her balance, but years of fighting had trained her well. She quickly resumed her post and muttered ¡¥It¡¦s OK.¡¦ to the careless man who was apologizing to her. Normally she wouldn¡¦t forgive someone so easily, but then she didn¡¦t really have the energy to scold the man. ¡¥I¡¦m really very sorry.¡¦ With a last glance at Haruka, the man turned and hurried off.

Haruka noticed that the man was a bit strange ¡V he wore a long and thick coat that fell past his ankle and a pair of shorts at the same time. It was as if the man did not have an idea about how normal people dress. Haruka mused. Then another thought made Haruka forget the strangeness of the man ¡V where had the man emerged from? She had not noticed that there was a door there, or else she wouldn¡¦t have stood so closely in front of it. 

Haruka stepped back a little and studied the place where she had thought merely a wall again. It was a small shop¡K no, a small inn named the Leaky Cauldron. It was strange ¡V if the man had not came out of it and ran into Haruka, she would not have noticed the existence of this small inn between two larger and more brightly colored shops. The protest in her stomach urged Haruka to approach the old fashioned wood door and push it open.

Unbeknown to herself, Haruka had stumbled into a wholly new and strange world. 

¡@

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Harry opened his eyes again. Where was he? He looked around the room. He immediately realized that he needed his glasses because he couldn¡¦t see anything clearly. He tried to reach the bedside table for his glasses, but discovered that someone was holding one of his hands. Though he could not see clearly, Harry could tell that it was Sirius by the feeling of the large and warm hand holding his own. 

Lying his head on his arm, Sirius was fast asleep. What happened the last time he was awake and what happened even before that slowly slipped back into Harry¡¦s waking mind. And soon it became too much for him to cope with. He snapped his eyes shut and willed all those terrible memories away. Then he opened his eyes again and told himself to focus on the man lying in front of him. Harry had to focus on the fact that _his_ godfather was still here so near to him. The poor man had not even tried to get a decent sleep because of him. It made Harry felt even more guilty¡K

Harry decided that it would be best not to wake his godfather yet. And very slowly, he tried to use his free hand to reach over to retrieve his glasses without waking Sirius. He finally got hold of it and put it back on, and the room, for the first time, came into focus. Despite Harry¡¦s effort to keep Sirius undisturbed, his movement startled Sirius. He jerked up suddenly and looked around a bit frantically. 

Sirius sank back into his chair when he was assured that Harry was not in danger. 

¡¥Sorry. I don¡¦t mean to wake you.¡¦ Harry said apologetically.

¡¥No, no. Don¡¦t have to be. I didn¡¦t mean to fall asleep,¡¦ it seemed that Sirius felt annoyed at himself that he had fallen asleep, ¡¥How do you feel, Harry?¡¦ 

¡¥I feel better.¡¦ Harry didn¡¦t want to meet Sirius¡¦ eyes yet¡K his eyes were so full of concern and caring for him¡KHarry was not sure whether he really deserve that. Therefore Harry avoided Sirius gaze and pretended to survey the room. It was a small room with only one bed on which he was occupying and a small wooden table and chair just beside the bed. The curtain was drawn and he could tell that it was afternoon by the faint sunlight that managed to pass through the thin and grey cloth. 

¡¥Where are we?¡¦ Harry finally turned his attention back to Sirius.

¡¥A small inn in London. It¡¦s not far from the Leaky Cauldron. I suppose we should get there first and use the fireplace there to get to Hogwarts.¡¦

Harry nodded. It seemed that except this they could do nothing else. Harry noticed Sirius kept looking at him worriedly.

¡¥You must be very hungry, right? But we have to get to Hogwarts first.¡¦ 

Harry again agreed with Sirius silently. They were already risking too much by staying here for so long¡K there is no telling how fast the death eaters could find them. In fact it seemed a miracle that they had not already. However, it would not be a good idea to walk in Leaky Cauldron unprepared.

¡¥But Sirius, you cannot just get into Leaky Cauldron like this.¡¦

¡¥Oh¡Kof course.¡¦ Sirius get up from his chair and stretched his stiff limbs. Then he walked to other end of the small bed.

¡¥Nor you, Harry. The incident at your uncle¡¦s flat with those death eaters must have turned the wizarding world up side down. To them, you¡¦ve gone _missing_.¡¦ Sirius picked up something from the bed. It was a cloak with a hood. 

¡¥You mean I would attract too much attention from unwanted people?¡¦ Harry said while taking the cloak from Sirius¡¦ extended hand. Then what about Sirius? Harry looked at Sirius inquiringly. 

¡¥I would go as Padfoot. In that form I can sense danger better.¡¦ Sirius poured a cup of warm water for Harry and he accepted it gratefully. When Harry put down the cup, he noticed that Sirius had had his wand out.

¡¥I need to strengthen the spell¡K the spell that Arabella had cast on your legs. I¡¦m no expert at this too¡K¡¦ Both of their faces darkened in pain at the mention of Arabella¡¦s name. It was like spilling salt onto a recently cut wound in their heart. Harry quickly lowered his head. Or else he thought that he might break into tears again. 

No matter how, Sirius performed the spell. Harry couldn¡¦t stop a small groan from escaping his throat because it was still very painful. Then the sight of Sirius¡¦ wand suddenly triggered something in Harry¡¦s mind. He reached into his pocket. Then he looked around the bed and the room.

¡¥Sirius!¡¦ Sirius was a little puzzled by Harry¡¦s strange behaviour.

¡¥My wand! Have you seen my wand?¡¦ 

¡¥No¡K¡¦ Sirius then looked around the room and then bent down to check under the bed. From the expression on his face when Sirius straightened again, Harry knew that his wand was not in this room.

¡¥Maybe you have left it in Arabella¡¦s house. I¡¦m sorry.¡¦ Sirius knew perfectly well that the attachment of a wizard or a witch with his or her wand only increases with time. To be without one¡¦s wand would cause an irrational fear in this person¡K Sirius had experienced it well enough in the first few months in Azkaban. 

Harry lowered his head soberly. ¡¥Stupid me to lose it¡K¡¦

¡¥Now, Harry.¡¦ Sirius sat on the bed and lifted Harry¡¦s chin up gently. ¡¥We¡¦ll find it back.¡¦ He assured his somehow frantic godson in a firm voice.

¡¥Here.¡¦ Sirius put his wand into Harry¡¦s hand. ¡¥Take it for me.¡¦ Harry nodded. Sirius stood back and after a faint ¡¥pop¡¦, Sirius was replaced with the familiar gigantic black dog. 

Harry placed the long cloak securely in his arm and put Sirius¡¦ wand in his pocket. Then he lay his feet on the floor and held onto the bedside table as he tentatively put his weight on his legs. He gave a small nod to Sirius as a signal that his legs were doing OK. Then Harry followed Padfoot out of the room.

It was nearly half past four when Harry and his ¡¥pet ¡¦ Padfoot stepped into the inn ¡V the Leaky Cauldron. Harry had already put on the cloak and veiled his head with the hood. Thankfully some people at the inn also didn¡¦t want others to know of their identity and had veiled their face with one way or other. It made Harry looked less suspicious.

The first thing Harry noticed when he entered the inn was that it was unusually crowded. Nearly every table had been occupied and many of them were talking heatedly in a group of four to five. The atmosphere inside the dimly lit room was somehow tense. Harry unconsciously pulled the hood closer to his face. 

¡¥Sir, what may I help you?¡¦ the innkeeper, Tom, while busy instructing the staff to serve the numerous customers, greeted Harry at the counter. His eyes momentarily shifted to the gigantic black dog sitting patiently at Harry¡¦s side. 

¡¥Err¡K I want to travel by floo powder with my dog.¡¦ Harry deliberately deepened his voice.

¡¥I¡¦m afraid that you can¡¦t do so¡KLinda! Tell that old lady there not to set her dugbog free! ¡K Frank! Is the coffee for table five and seven and eight and twelve ready?¡¦ Tom again turned his attention back to Harry, ¡¥Sorry. It¡¦s too busy here. Where were we¡Kyes. The floo network is down.¡¦ Harry stared at Tom in shock and Padfoot sat more erectly and listened intently. 

¡¥The attack at Harry Potter¡¦s house caused chaos in the Ministry. The ministry officials are too busy tracking where they had taken poor Harry to to repair the floo network¡K and people are saying that the floo network was also damaged by the death eaters¡KI hope that Harry is alright. He is such a polite young man. ¡¦ from the innkeeper¡¦s voice Harry could tell that he was really concerned about him. Harry felt a bit guilty about bringing so much trouble to everyone. Hermione and Ron¡¦s family must be so worried about him¡K

¡¥I¡¦m¡KI¡¦m sure that he will be fine.¡¦ said Harry in an attempt to make Tom feel less worried.

¡¥I hope so¡Know, the floo network should be up and working in an hour or two ¡V at least the Ministry officials said so. Why don¡¦t you sit down and have a drink or something? Please get yourself a seat¡K¡¦ Tom patted Harry¡¦s shoulder and then rushed off to tend to various businesses.

Harry felt that something tugged at his trousers ¡V it was Padfoot pulling at his trousers with his teeth, motioning Harry towards the tables. It seemed that they had to wait¡Kmaybe all those people there were also waiting for the floo network to work again, or were trying to get the latest news on the abducted Harry Potter, that was him.

Harry could only find a small table in a quiet corner of the inn which still had a vacant seat. The other chair by that table was already occupied by a person ¡V Harry could not tell whether it was a men or a woman as most of the person¡¦s body was hidden from view by a copy of Daily Prophet. Harry could see that the headline, unsurprisingly, was ¡¥Death Eaters Attack at Potter¡¦s Resident! Harry Potter Missing¡¦. Underneath it was a black and white photo of his uncle¡¦s house. 

¡¥Excuse me.¡¦ Harry approached the person and asked, ¡¥Would you mind if I and my¡Kdog sit here?¡¦ the person finally realized that someone was talking and hence put down the newspaper. It was a woman in her mid-twenties and had short blonde hair. The woman looked like a handsome young man at the first glance, but on closer inspection, one could tell that it was a woman¡Kher features were too graceful and delicate for it to be a man¡¦s.

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End of Chpater 8! Guess who is the woman at the end of this chapter? I suppose you don¡¦t really have to guess. So, if anyone want another chapter, you know what to do.


	9. Not Again?

Disclaimer: Nothing in this belongs to me. Everything belongs to their respective owners  
  
A/N : Don't know if anybody notice that the other half of chapter 8 has been posted. If you have not, check it out before reading this.  
  
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Chapter 9 Not Again?  
  
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'Excuse me.' Harry approached the person and asked, 'Would you mind if I and my. . .dog sit here?'  
  
The person realized who Harry was in fact speaking to and hence put down the newspaper. The person was frowning slightly at the newspaper before looking up at Harry. . . perhaps the news troubled her? The person looked like a handsome young man at first glance, but on closer inspection, Harry could tell without doubt that it was in fact a woman - her feature was too delicate and graceful for it to be a man's. The woman was in her mid- twenties and had short blonde hair. She was in a blue shirt and black jeans that fitted her just perfectly and it was fashionable. Her greenish-blue eyes would look beautiful to Harry if only she had not been fixing Harry with a calculating glance.  
  
'No, I don't mind.'  
  
The woman might not really mean to scare him, but Harry felt a bit unnerved. The woman seemed not to be in such a good mood. And Harry was sure that if the woman wanted, her glare could rival that of Snape's.  
  
Harry, a bit nervously as the woman was still studying him, sat down and studied the menu. He ordered several sandwiches and a cup of coffee and also asked for a bowl of water for his 'dog'.  
  
'It's stifling here, don't you think so? Why don't you take off your cloak?' asked the woman. Her voice was deep and there was a charm in it, which seemed to be able to mesmerize the listener. . .Harry suddenly understood why the woman appeared to be suspicious of him - his face was covered. However, taking off his cloak was definitely out of the question. Harry really could not imagine if someone had seen him here..  
  
'No, it's fine enough for me.' Harry did think that it was hot and stifling in the room, but what else could he say to the woman other than that? As he looked at the woman to see if she was satisfied with his answer, Harry noticed that the woman's attention was no longer directed at him. Following the woman's gaze, Harry found out that she was staring at Sirius. And Sirius, as a dog, was too staring at the woman.  
  
Harry looked at the woman, then to Sirius, and then back to the woman again. Something was definitely not right about the way they were staring at each other. . . There was something Harry could not make out in the woman's eyes. Harry's heart beat quicker and quicker. Irrational thoughts started to appear in Harry's somehow deoxygenated mind. What if the woman knew Sirius was only pretending to be a dog? What if she told the others about it? What if she was a Death Eater?.both of them were sitting so still. . .  
  
The woman, while still staring at Sirius, said to Harry, 'Your dog. . .'  
  
The awkward moment was broken when a plate of sandwiches, a cup of coffee and a bowl of water came flying very fast but steadily towards their table and landed neatly on its surface. The woman seemed to be a little taken aback by the sudden appearance of those things, but she only let her surprise be shown for the briefest moment. Harry released his breath - he didn't realize that he was holding it.  
  
In order to avoid the woman's eyes, Harry looked downwards on the table and picked up the cup of coffee. He quickly gave it up once his lips came into contact with the brown liquid - it was way too hot. Then he nibbled at a sandwich - he was not really that hungry. However, after receiving a low growl and a glare from Sirius, Harry knew that he had to finish it. On the other hand, Sirius had gobbled down his share of sandwiches and water fairly quickly.  
  
'You have a handsome dog.' While Harry was busy finishing his sandwich, the woman suddenly commented.  
  
'Thank you.' Harry hastily swallowed the last bit of food in his mouth and replied. Then he suddenly found his face grew hot as the woman flashed a little smile at him. Harry was thankful that his face was covered with the hood. . . the woman could charm other people without really trying.  
  
Padfoot had perhaps momentarily forgotten the previous tense moment and was apparently quite happy about being called a 'handsome dog'. He approached the woman slowly as she extended her hand to him. Harry noticed that the woman had long and slender fingers.  
  
'Can I pat him?' the woman inquired politely.  
  
'Of. . . of course!'  
  
The woman then enjoyed patting the long and soft fur of Padfoot. This amazed Harry because most people would be intimidated by the sight of such a large black dog - Harry himself had been when he first saw his godfather's animagus form.  
  
Harry was kind of curious about how his godfather was feeling.he looked as if he was enjoying the woman's pat too. How could he not be when he was patted by a woman? And the woman was a beautiful one. . .Harry suddenly found that this scene - his godfather being patted like a dog by a woman - was actually very amusing. He couldn't help but chuckled.  
  
'What's so funny?' the woman asked as Padfoot glared at Harry in a reproving way and barked. And the bark sounded suspicious like 'what?' to Harry.  
  
'Err. . .I was just. . . thinking of something. . .' Harry had to take a deep breath to control himself.  
  
'So,' after Padfoot walked back to Harry's side, the woman leaned forward and her tone deepened, 'I suppose you are waiting for the. . . network to work again? '  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
'Then why don't we get know to each other better? My name is Tenou Haruka. What's yours?'  
  
'I'm - ' the sudden question nearly made Harry blurted out his true name. Thankfully Padfoot nudged Harry's legs sharply with his head and caused Harry to pause and think better of it.  
  
'I'm Neville. . . Neville Longbottom.' Neville, sorry, thought Harry, but your name was the first that came into my mind.  
  
The look on Haruka's face told Harry that she was not buying it. 'OK. . . if you said so. . . then, "Neville", what is the name of your dog?'  
  
'He's Snuffle.'  
  
'Snuffle?' Haruka looked bewildered by the name. But then it seemed that she decided to ignore it. 'Hmm. . . you are a native wizard, right?'  
  
'Yes, I'm.'  
  
'I came from Japan and the. . . wizarding society there is not like it here. Would you mind telling me something about it?'  
  
'No, of course I don't mind.' Harry found it hard to turn down her polite request. Therefore he went on to answer her questions about the floo network, the main wizarding village, the Ministry of Magic, the largest magic school around - that is Hogwarts - and its headmaster and so on. They chatted more than half an hour during which Padfoot sat patiently at Harry's side. As time went by and the number of questions Haruka asked increased, Padfoot's pale eyes seemed to narrow in distrust again.  
  
Harry was quite curious about Haruka and hence after she stopped asking questions, he decided to do something about his curiosity. 'Would you mind if I call you "Haruka"?'  
  
'No, I'd not, "Neville".'  
  
'Then may I ask why do you come to London? Are you a tourist?'  
  
'Not exactly,' she paused for a while as if to contemplate on how much she could tell Harry, 'I was asked by someone to come here and find a person and help him,' the answer seemed pretty vague, but Harry supposed that he was not the one to protest about it - he himself had not told her his true name. 'But I don't know if I can ever find this person as he is. . .not where he was anymore.' Haruka then turned her gaze away from Harry and it fell on the folded paper on the table before staring into the space. She seemed lost in her own thought. Harry thought it was best not to disturb her yet.  
  
  
  
Harry wanted to order another drink when a middle-aged man suddenly came bursting through the door of the inn and dropped to his knees on the ground. His hands clutched tightly at the doorframe and his eyes were widened in absolute horror. All eyes in the inn turned to the man.  
  
'Death Eaters out there! Death - ' the door was thrown wide open and the man turned unconscious and fell to the ground. Harry had not really noticed what had happened to that man - his attention, just like the rest of the people in the inn, was wholly drawn to the those who appeared behind the fallen man - people in long dark robes with faces covered in hoods and wands raised.  
  
Most people found that their worst nightmare came true and were numbed with shock for a short time. Then they screamed. This triggered the death eaters in motion - they ran into the inn and started to curse any moving things that came across their paths.  
  
'Get Potter! ' someone shouted.  
  
Padfoot barked frantically at Harry, but Harry was motionless with terror. What Harry could notice was only the horrible scene in front of him - one after another body fell down on the ground as those darkly robed monsters shot one after another curse. People dying because of him?  
  
Those dark robes reminded Harry once again of the dead body of Mrs. Figg lying motionless in his arms. And her hollow eyes. Cedric's hollow eyes. His body lying oddly on the ground of the graveyard. Green flashes. His mum's plea. Voldemort's high-pitched cruel laughter. Mrs. Figg's silvery hair so close to him. . . no. . . not again. . . no. . .  
  
Harry shut his eyes and covered his ears with his hands desperately to block all those screams and image and laughter and cries that were cracking his sanity. His mind refused to take him anywhere and his soul was no longer connected to the physical world outside his body. It sank lower and lower into to the darkness and coldness of despair.  
  
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Haruka watched transfixed as the man who burst through the door fell, then darkly robed figures came rushing in. The chaotic scene was familiar to Haruka: people cried and ran everywhere but to the exit as most of them were too shocked to tell the way out. Panic-stricken screams filled her ears. Some of those being chased suddenly collapsed onto the floor after being hit with a blast of light from the sticks, wands Haruka supposed, those Death Eaters held. And some of the people just all of a sudden disappeared - was it the Death Eaters' doing or by their own free will to escape?  
  
It really was not the place or time for pondering such kind of things. Haruka wanted so much to pull out her transformation pen and transform. Only by doing so could the power within her be released and that she could stop and punish those Death Eaters with her long unused power. It angered her greatly to see those death eaters keep hurting innocent people. And did they just shout 'Get Potter'? Would it mean that Harry Potter was here?  
  
Her heart had sank and her world turned black when she read the wizard newspaper called 'Daily Prophet' and knew that Harry was supposed to be captured by the Death Eaters. She feared that she had failed them - she had wasted too much time. All she could tell herself was that there had been no prove that Harry Potter had indeed been captured. And now those Death Eaters came looking for him.which would mean that she had not been too late and Harry, who she was meant to protect, was here.  
  
As much as she wanted to find where Harry Potter was, Haruka could not ignore the condition the boy who called himself 'Neville' was in. Something was wrong about the teenage boy. He seemed oblivious to the chaos around him and just sat transfixed at his chair. His hand, while shaking madly, reached up and pressed the sides of the hood of his cloak tightly. She knew that she could not tend to her own business before getting the boy out of here.  
  
With a few long strides, Haruka got in front of the boy. She shoved his dog out of her way and lay her hand firmly on the boy's skinny shoulder.  
  
'Neville, Neville! You OK? We have to get out of here!' Haruka could get nothing out of the boy and hence shook him roughly. It was not the time for gentle action.  
  
The boy continued to ignore Haruka and bent down slightly as if in pain. Haruka gave up the idea of waking the boy from his trance - the Death Eaters were already heading their way. Haruka pulled the boy up from his seat. Thankfully the boy had also lost his ability to resist and let Haruka dragged him out of attackers' way. They had barely been a few steps away from the table when blasts of red light hit the table and caused it to come apart.  
  
Haruka had to dodge the Death Eaters' attack - she had no idea what would happen if she or the boy was hit by it - with great difficulty and found her way to the door in semi-darkness as all the sources of light inside the room had been destroyed. Haruka held the boy tightly against her.  
  
It took her nearly five minutes to get herself and the boy out of the way of all those people, either lying on the floor or flying across the room just like many other knives and forks and cups and tables and chairs, and then out of the wooden door. Then Haruka hurriedly dragged the boy across the road. When Haruka finally stopped to catch her breath and turned back, fire burst through the window of the inn before her eyes. Haruka's heart immediately frozen - what if Harry Potter was still in there? She had got to get back in without delay. . .  
  
'Neville, listen.' Haruka nearly yelled at the boy. She couldn't tell whether the boy was listening to her or not, but she had to make sure of his safety. 'Stay here. At least don't go back in the inn. I've to go.'  
  
Haruka turned and intended to go back in but then someone got hold of her arm. It was the boy. It seemed that he had suddenly come out of his trance.  
  
'Wait.' His voice was quivering. A gust of wind blew their way and made the hood of the long cloak he wore covered his face completely. The boy used his other hand to pull the hood off his head, and Haruka suddenly found herself under the gaze of a pair of brilliant green eyes. Why did they seem so familiar to her?  
  
'What's happening?' the pair of emerald green eyes were turned to the burning inn.  
  
Where exactly had she seen the same pair of beautiful green eyes?  
  
The boy said something which Haruka was too occupied to hear clearly. And she was able to hear him again.  
  
'Where is my dog? Where's him?'  
  
The pair of horror-stricken green eyes reflected the light of the fire roaring in the inn. It was as if the eyes were shining. . . and the mob of wild black hair.  
  
'Where's him? Where's my dog? Where's Padfoot?' Harry yelled and shook Haruka's arm furiously but Haruka was too shocked to answer - who would believe that she had been talking to the boy she was meant to find and protect for almost an hour? And she had thought that the chances of finding Harry would be slim, but now. . .  
  
The removal of pressure from her arm made Haruka realized that Harry was no longer beside her. And she quickly spotted the back of Harry who was running as fast as he could towards the burning inn. Haruka without any hesitation sprang and ran towards Harry. She was glad that she could run so fast - this enabled her to outrun Harry before he managed to get to the inn. She spun Harry around by pulling at his arm.  
  
'Harry, don't go back in! It's dangerous! Especially for you!'  
  
Harry seemed not surprised at being called his real name. He was too worried about his 'dog' to notice.  
  
'NO! Let me go! Let me GO!!!'  
  
Harry struggled madly against Haruka's restricting hand. Haruka had to hold on with all her strength to keep him from running off again.  
  
'No, I can't let you. It's just a dog, Harry! You have to run away from here for your life!'  
  
'It's not "just a dog"! He's my. . . He's very important to me. You don't understand. Let go of me! I can't lose him!' something came up in Haruka's mind - hadn't James and Lily mentioned something about their friend who was Harry's godfather? Had they not mentioned that he had something to do with a dog? Maybe wizard could turn into animals at will? . . . and the name Padfoot. That must be it. The dog was Harry's godfather!  
  
'Harry, stay here! I'll go and get him.' Haruka shouted at her top volume to get Harry listening to her. Harry stared at Haruka in a mixture of utmost anxiety and disbelief.  
  
'But. . .'  
  
'No buts, Harry. I'm sure that he would not want you to go back in. I promise you I'll get him out of there. ' Haruka could see that a great contest was taking place in Harry's heart - whether to jump into the burning inn himself or to trust the stranger in front of him. Haruka looked into Harry's eyes and could see the pain and affliction within. They were telling her that he could not bear to leave his godfather in danger and he would sacrifice his life for his godfather.  
  
Haruka could tell that she had to act fast - she had to act before Harry decided to jump back in. She squeezed Harry's shoulder firmly and pushed him a few steps backwards. She gave a last determined gaze to Harry before turning and sped towards the broken wooden door from where dense smoke emerged.  
  
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Harry watched as Haruka entered the burning inn and wondered why had he let the woman stopped him. Then he told himself again and again that Sirius would be alright - maybe he had already gotten out of there.no matter how, he surely could look after himself. . . and he had not lost his wand just like Harry had. . . Wait.  
  
Harry reached into his pocket and took out his godfather's wand.  
  
And his heart frozen.  
  
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the end of chapter 9! What will happen to the three of them? 


	10. Into the burning inn

Disclaimer: Nothing in this belongs to me. Everything belongs to their respective owners  
  
A/N It's been a long time since I last posted. . . but as school started I can do nothing about it. Just hope that the next chapter will get out as fast as possible. As you may have noticed, the first few chapters have been revised. There were no major changes but only certain grammar and spelling mistakes were corrected. Special thanks go to Rawiya, the author of the 'Family Tree ' , who helped me with the corrections.  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Rawiya. Thank you, Rawiya!^^  
  
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Chapter 10 Into the burning inn . . .  
  
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It was full of smoke inside the inn. Wooden chairs, tables and anything that was flammable were ablaze. Flame rose and danced in a threatening way as if to forbid anyone from going any further into the inn.  
  
  
  
Haruka's friends had told her many times before that she should not be so impulsive at times. She really should think before she acted. Haruka couldn't help but thought of her friends' words as she coughed uncontrollably - the smoke inside was surely choking her to death. She had recklessly jumped into the burning inn and she was not even sure whether Harry's godfather was really inside. Not to mention that the Death Eaters might still be inside . . . But there had not exactly been any spare time for thinking any kind of plans! Haruka protested inwardly as if arguing with her friends.  
  
Haruka covered her mouth with her hand and with great difficulty, found her way around the damaged inn. She couldn't see - the smoke inside was so thick and irritated her eyes. Tears welled up. She could barely make out the faint outline of the heaps of smoldered and blackened furniture and debris that lay on the floor.  
  
  
  
Haruka could hear no screaming - anyone inside must have either fled, passed out, or worst . . . but where were those Death Eaters? As Haruka thought of this she took out her transformation pen - the thing that allowed her to unleash the immense power raging in her body after transforming. It had been years since she last transformed - it had been years since her last battle.  
  
  
  
Just as Haruka turned around a corner, a tall man knocked into her with full force without warning. Both of them crushed onto the floor with the tall man on top of Haruka. Her head came into contact with the wooden floor with a hard blow and the sharp pain numbed her mind. She could not see anything but just vaguely hear shouts. And someone - the man who knocked her down - shook her shoulder. Haruka tried to get up, but then the imprudent man pinned her down with his body tightly. Was it because she was dizzy or something? It seemed that different colours of light flew across her vision. . . no, behind that man's back - that was above them.  
  
  
  
Finally the intense pain subdued a bit and Haruka's mind started to work properly again. The first thing she noticed was the man's long hair that had fallen onto her face and it was ticklish. Maybe the blow to her head caused some damage after all - Haruka's was having strange thoughts. Though his hair was kind of soft and seemed finely cut and all, it felt like the hair of a dog.  
  
  
  
"Padfoot?" she whispered without thinking.  
  
  
  
The man didn't seem to notice her whisper and finally decided to get off Haruka. While still crouching low to the floor, he pulled her up.  
  
  
  
"Where's Harry?" the man, probably Harry's godfather, asked, or more precisely hissed at Haruka. She couldn't make out his expression, there was too dim and too much smoke. All Haruka could feel was the increasing pressure from the man's grip on her shoulder. Before she could answer, he suddenly shoved her against the wall and he himself also lay flat against the wall. Just as they got out of the way, two darkly robed figures passed the spot they had been standing.  
  
  
  
The sight of the enemies and the perilous situation triggered something in Haruka. She regained the usual control she had over her mind and body and she instinctively turned into her 'fighting mode'. In spite of the lack of oxygen, Haruka's confused mind cooled down and quickly had a re-evaluation of the situation - and therefore realized something dreadful. She had lost her transformation pen. She was still holding it before the man - was it Sirius or Simon, she couldn't really recall what James and Lily had told her - knocked her off. Without her transformation pen, her power could not be released, how could she fight off the Death Eaters and got them both out?  
  
  
  
"Stay here." the man without another word or another glance at her sprang from the wall and assaulted one of the Death Eaters from behind. Haruka had no choice but to fight barehandedly as the other Death Eater realized that his counterpart was in trouble. The Death Eater ran towards Harry's godfather, who was busy suffocating the Death Eater with his arms around the Death Eater's neck. Haurka also sprang into action - she ran towards the three men. She increased her speed as she glimpsed a flash of silver from the long dark robe of the second Death Eater. Just as the Death Eater was about to stab Harry's godfather with the dagger, Haruka grabbed the Death Eater's wrist tightly and sank her fingernails into the man's flesh so that the man dropped his dagger. Nearly at the same instance, Haruka's other fist connected with the jaw of the unlucky Death Eater. His costume - the long dark robe with hoods - was nothing really but obstacle to the person wearing it as it only hindered the wearer's movement. Haruka noticed this as the Death Eater could not react to her attack quickly enough and gave an agonized yell before falling down to the floor clumsily.  
  
  
  
Even if the Death Eater's outfit had not been like this, he still would be no match for Haruka's quick reflex and action. She was more than well experienced in fighting, really. As long as the Death Eater was immobilized before he could take out his wand. . . Before the Death Eater manage to collect himself and struggle up to revenge, Haruka gave the man a hard kick in his stomach and the man curled into a ball and convulsed uncontrollably. Haruka didn't think that she had to show mercy to those bullying guys who only suppress and torture the weak and quiver in fear in front of the strong.  
  
  
  
Haruka tried to find out how Harry's godfather was doing amid all the choking smoke when more of the Death Eaters charged towards her. Haruka knew trouble when she saw it - and she knew the wands the Death Eaters pointing at her meant no good but only harm. She did what her instinct - the instinct that had saved her life several times already - told her to. She crouched down and rowed over. Light of different colours soared barely inches above her back and left a strangely unpleasant feeling there. She quickly regained her crouching composure and kicked at the feet of the nearest Death Eater. Exactly as Haruka had intended the Death Eater shrieked in pain and fell down. As Haruka rose from the floor she could make out the approaching footsteps behind her and she very precisely lifted her long, slender but powerful leg and kicked backwards. Her heel came into contact with the belly of the attacker and effectively immobilized the attacker with pain. Haruka's keen sense told her that a third person was dangerous close to her and she reflexively tried to throw a punch at the person but the person was even faster then her and grabbed her wrist before she could touch him.  
  
  
  
"Where's Harry?" upon hearing the deep and stressed voice, Haruka banished the thought of throwing her other fist at the man and relaxed just a little. She could recognize the owner of the voice - Harry's godfather.  
  
  
  
"Out there. . . " the smoke inside was getting denser and denser. She coughed and a pain started to develop in her chest. "he is out there. . . across the street. He told me to get you out. " Haruka could barely keep her eyes open and see through the dense smoke. The heat of the blazing surrounding was also unbearable. To her confusion, Haruka felt that Harry's godfather's grip on her arm was loosening.  
  
  
  
"I - " the voice of him trailed off suddenly, and then Haruka sensed that he collapsed forwards. . . and onto her. She was nearly knocked off balance and had to swiftly slip her arms around him to support him from falling. Thankfully she was standing just in front of a wall and that it backed her up.  
  
  
  
"Hei! Are You OK? Answer me!" She was suffocated by the man's weight - though the man was lean, he was taller than her by more than half a head and way heavier than her. If he lost it here, she would have no means of getting him out of here. "Wake up! Wake up!!" Haruka kept shouting weakly at Harry's godfather.  
  
  
  
With a groan and a little shake of his head, he seemed to slowly regain his consciousness. Haruka, with her last remaining strengthen, increased the force applied by her hand to steady him as he attempted to stand again. Then she withdrew her hand and felt that she had touched something wet and sticky on the man's back - a dread fell over her heart. No wonder the man swayed on his feet. . . Haruka held on to the man's arm more tightly. She had no idea that how badly was he injured. What if it was serious? What if he . . .  
  
  
  
The image of Harry's large and pleading eyes appeared in Haruka'a mind. What if she couldn't get his godfather out? How could she fail him. . . it would most certainly break him.  
  
  
  
A new determination sparked in Haruka as she planted one of her arm firmly under the man's shoulder. She would lead the momentarily incoherent man out of the inn, no matter what. She guarded the man carefully forward. Small explosion could be heard near them, and the smoke and heat was as dense as ever. With each step forward her strength declined but her mind kept screaming at her seemingly lead filled feet to keep going. Her eyes were welling with tears again because of all irritating smoke. Her throat was absolutely burning with pain. But she would not give up. The stubborn voice in her kept telling her.  
  
  
  
"Have to . . . get to him. . . Harry. . . " the man moaned and suddenly stopped. Haruka had no means of pulling him along.  
  
  
  
"NO!. . . " Haruka shouted and inhaled a lot of smoke, which made her cough uncontrollably, "we have to get to the exit. . . to Harry. . . " Haruka tried her best to reason with the man. And her knees buckled below her. Both of them fell to the ground in a kneeling position.  
  
  
  
"Have to. . . get to. . . Harry. . ."  
  
  
  
"Up you get then! He is waiting for you!" but the man just simply refused to stand. It was perhaps the deepest despair Haruka had ever experienced. No way out. Failed him. . . failed them. . . she knew she didn't have the strength to stand up again.  
  
  
  
"We cannot get to the door on foot now." Harry's godfather muttered and Haruka was not very sure whether she was hearing correctly or not. "Listen, " he was trying very hard to put his thought into words, "my concentration is not enough . . . for apparating. Think clearly of the place Harry is now in. Do you know. . . how to apparate? "  
  
  
  
"No." what the hell was the man babbling about? She could hardly breathe.  
  
  
  
"Just think about Harry. Just think about the exact spot he is now in. I'll get us both out." Haruka's vision blurred but her mind clutched onto the weak voice as if a drowning girl clutching a lifeguard. And she just followed his instruction and pictured the place where she had led Harry to . . . and his horrified eyes. . . the light of the fire that reflected in his eyes . . . the exact spot.  
  
  
  
A strange sensation passed through her hand from where the man was holding her. And the feeling slowly diffused to the rest of her body just like a current of warmth and power. Her body just seemed to become lighter and lighter. And she kept hanging on to the thought of where Harry was. It was as though she was disappearing. . . the feeling of the solid ground beneath her legs was disappearing. . . the feeling of heat and smoke and darkness were all slipping away. . .  
  
  
  
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It seemed to Harry that he had been waiting in the dark alley for hours, and his heart was absolutely burning with anxiety, but actually it was barely ten minutes after Haruka ran into the inn. He kept scolding himself on why he was so stupid as to let the woman go inside. . . now not only Sirius life was endangered, Haruka's life was also at stake because of him. . . his heart writhed painfully. He felt so powerless. He was downright in a cesspit of despair and guilt. He squeezed the wand - Sirius' wand - in his hand tightly. What could he do to stop the fire? What could he do to save them? What if Sirius had already left him behind? And why weren't any Aurors or firemen coming? Where were the Aurors when you need them?  
  
  
  
The fire was turning even more fierce by the minute and loud cracks could be heard every now and then. With a last deafening crack, the whole inn burst into flame. Harry watched with wide eyes as the roof collapsed.  
  
  
  
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Please review! 


	11. A Message From The Dead

Disclaimer: Nothing in this belongs to me. Everything belongs to their respective owners  
  
A/N: It's been a long time, I know, but I had exams right after Christmas holiday . . . Anyway, it's here. Special thanks to Rawiya, my wonderful beta-reader!  
  
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Chapter 11 A Message from The Dead  
  
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A tall man in his Death Eater's robes apparated inside the blazing Leaky Cauldron. He quickly performed a bubble spell on his head so that he wouldn't breathe in all the dense smoke. He carefully crept around the inn and after a short while, found the Death Eaters who had been expected to bring Harry Potter back to Voldemort's lair instead they lay beaten on the floor of the blazing inn.  
  
  
  
Not that he really cared about the lives or the well-being of these stupid men who failed to carry out the simple task of capturing a teenage boy. However, it just wouldn't do to have these Death Eaters captured by the Aurors that he knew would be arriving at any moment. He had to move fast because not only were the Aurors coming, but the inn was bound to collapse.  
  
  
  
After gathering the unconscious Death Eaters in a heap with the levitating spell, he performed a complicated transport spell and the unconscious Death Eaters disappeared in a flash. The man smirked as he thought of a raging Voldemort who awaited their return to the lair. But then something else caught his attention. There was a weird-shaped pen lying on the floor. However, what truly caught his attention was the magical aura radiated from the pen. He bent down and tentatively touched the pen. When no harm came flying his way, the man quickly picked up the pen and pocketed it.  
  
  
  
Just as the inn's roof began to collapse with a deafening crack, the man disappeared with a faint pop.  
  
  
  
  
  
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"My GOD!. . . Not happening. . . it's not happening." Harry clenched his fist and held even tighter onto Sirius' wand. He slowly raised one hand to cover his face.  
  
  
  
"Not happening. No. . ." His finger tangled with bands of his dark hair that stuck limply on his forehead and pulled at them desperately. His vision blurred with tears.  
  
"Harry."  
  
  
  
A voice rang behind Harry. Never had Harry once in his life been so grateful to be called. It was finer than the finest music, as if his frozen world had suddenly become reanimated. . . it was as if the whole world came back to life after an ice age. Relief rushed through his fragile body as Harry turned around towards the unmistakable voice. Tears fell as the most welcoming and comforting sight appeared before his eyes, his godfather.  
  
  
  
Sirius was standing with the support of Haruka with a vague expression. Whether it was happiness, relief, exhaustion or all of them combined, Harry couldn't tell. He just concentrated on the task of bringing himself towards Sirius, towards the godfather that he thought he had lost.  
  
  
  
Sirius also stepped forward as Haruka tentatively withdrew her arm and stepped aside. Both Sirius and Harry took a few unsteady steps to close the distance in between them. Sirius lay his hands on Harry's shoulders as Harry tilted his head to study Sirius. Harry blinked away his tears very quickly to clear his vision, but only more tears welled up as Harry could tell without doubt that the man before him was indeed his godfather. It was not an illusion. Perhaps during these two days the amount of tears Harry had shed was more than the amount combined in the rest of his life. He threw his arms around Sirius and embraced him tightly.  
  
  
  
"Sirius, I thought you were. . .you were. . ."  
  
  
  
"I'm here now, Harry. I promise you I won't leave you again. Not if I can help it." Sirius wrapped a tired arm around Harry's quivering shoulders.  
  
  
  
After a moment of silence, Harry finally controlled his raging emotions and pulled back. He noticed that Haruka was watching them all the time from behind. Sirius also turned towards Harry's direction of attention.  
  
  
  
"Thank you so much for bringing Sirius back."  
  
  
  
"You're welcome." Haruka smiled at Harry. She was glad to witness their reunion.  
  
  
  
"Here! Come quickly!" Someone shouted across the street, drawing their attention back to the inn. Both Sirius and Harry tensed in alarm as they noticed that more than ten wizards and witches in brown robes in standard uniform of Aurors had just apparated outside the inn that had nearly been razed to the ground. The fire was still blazing and the Aurors kept showering spells to the inn to put out the fire.  
  
  
  
Sirius with one of his arm still over Harry's shoulder, turned and led Harry deeper into the alleyway. Haruka followed them but felt suspicious of their reaction.  
  
  
  
"Why are you turning away? I suppose the people over there are some sorts of law enforcers? Why do you seem afraid of them?" Haruka asked but they kept going and turned around a corner before stopping.  
  
  
  
"It's difficult to explain. . . " Harry could not think of any easy way of explaining the sophisticated predicament Sirius was in with a few words. Harry looked up to Sirius, who had lapsed into silence for a while, and then looked down in contemplation. Then Harry noticed that Sirius' wand was still in his hand.  
  
  
  
"Sirius, take your wand back. . ." Harry held out the wand and spotted something wet on his hand and realized that it was blood, Sirius' blood.  
  
  
  
"Sirius! You're bleeding!" Harry shouted, finally noticed that the pressure applied by Sirius' arm on his shoulder had increased because of his weakened state.  
  
  
  
"I'm OK. It's just a few minor scratches." Sirius said with a faint wave of his hand and a grimace on his face, "We cannot stay here anymore. We have to get away from here."  
  
  
  
"But we have to get your wound tended first!" Such an amount of blood could hardly pass as "minor scratches". Harry was worried about Sirius - he could not keep running around with his wound untreated like this.  
  
  
  
"No, Harry. We have to get you to some place safe first. There may still be Death Eaters in the area. And the Aurors. . . "  
  
  
  
Haruka stepped in at that moment. "You have to get away from here, right?" she asked Sirius and Sirius nodded. "And Sirius has to get medical treatment, right?" Haruka said as she turned to Harry, who nodded anxiously, his grip on Sirius arm tightening.  
  
  
  
"What about catching a taxi to my hotel? You can get some medicine and rest there before deciding what to do next."  
  
  
  
It then suddenly appeared to Sirius that there was a crucial problem - who was Haruka? Why was she helping them? Although his concentration was becoming harder to maintain due to his blood loss, he still found himself asking, "Who are you? Why are you helping us?" It could be a fatal mistake to trust anyone rashly. Sirius had learned that a long time ago with a terrible loss.  
  
  
  
"Sirius! She saved you! I think we can trust her."  
  
  
  
"No, Harry."  
  
  
  
"I think you really don't have much choice now, do you?" Haruka reasoned calmly. "They will start searching the area for the Death Eaters soon."  
  
  
  
Sirius bit his lower lip and frowned. His brain was not properly functioning . . . Why did he want so much to simply give in and trust this woman? Why did Harry trust her so easily? What did the woman want?  
  
  
  
Before Sirius could make a decision, Haruka impatiently slipped an arm around Sirius' shoulder to support his weakened body and looked forward with a fierce determination. "Harry, lead the way to the nearest taxi station. Explanation comes later."  
  
  
  
Harry gratefully nodded. And so the three of them moved again.  
  
  
  
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Douglas Anderson pushed open the door to the Shell's Dream, a popular wizard's bar in London. He stepped in and shut the empty night street behind him with a soft "bang" of the wooden door. Dragging his tired body, he made his way to one of the few deserted seats at the counter and threw himself into a battered wooden chair.  
  
  
  
The Shell's Dream was a medium sized bar where wizards and witches liked to hang out in groups after work. It was Douglas and his Auror friends' favorite relax place after a day's or several days' worth of stressful Auror work. However, today Douglas just didn't feel the usual relief of having finished his work.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Douglas, overtime again? What big things happened again?" a barman clapped Douglas shoulder and put down his usual mug of beer in front of him.  
  
  
  
"Nothing. It's really a miracle that you don't already know. Just see for yourself for the more colorful version on the Daily Prophet tomorrow." Douglas answered in an uncharacteristically un-cheerful voice and the barman shrugged before walking away to get orders from the other patrons in the bar.  
  
  
  
Douglas sipped the beer slowly and sank even deeper into the chair. Too much had happened in these two days. First was the murder of Arabella Figg, a well respected old lady and Auror. Harry Potter was also attacked and was now missing. Then he discovered Sirius Black's involvement and then was informed of his innocence by Dumbledore. Today he had just been back form a meeting with Dumbledore and knew more about the truth behind James and Lily Potter's death when alarm of attack and fire at the Leaky Cauldron was raised. Causalities were worse then expected as more people then usual were waiting in the inn. Douglas and twenty more Aurors were sent to search the area for any escaping Death Eaters. None had been found, which wasn't surprising.  
  
  
  
Douglas had signed in relief when he found out that no one had caught sight of Harry Potter or Sirius Black. He was sure that they had been the reason for the attack, specifically Harry Potter.  
  
  
  
The murmur of the people in the bar slowly lured him to close his eyelids. The usual laughter and cheers were lacking . . . who would have a cheerful mood after something so disastrous happened? Friends and families and colleagues were lost. If only Voldemort had not been resurrected . . . if only he could rid the world of these horrible Death Eaters . . . Douglas brushed the stray brown hair from his forehead and sighed.  
  
  
  
"Mind if I sit here?" a low silky voice rang above Douglas. He raised his head and found a man in his mid-thirties standing just behind his chair.  
  
  
  
"Of course not."  
  
  
  
The man sat down in the chair next to Douglas'. The man was tall, thin and with pale skin that seemed to glow faintly in the dimly lit room. His hair was sleek black with traces of white and gray among it. The pale gray eyes seemed luminous, and made Douglas consider the possibility that he was in the company of a vampire. However, there was something about the man that eased Douglas' mind and he discarded his initial impression.  
  
  
  
A barman approached the man. "Sir, the usual?"  
  
  
  
The man gave a small nod to the barman and smiled at the barman gratefully - this gesture made the man looked more human and approachable. The man noticed Douglas studying him and smiled. Douglas very naturally grinned back. But what the man said next surprised him.  
  
  
  
"You must be Douglas Anderson?" the man asked.  
  
  
  
"Yes, I am. Sorry, sir, but . . . do I know you?"  
  
  
  
"No, you shouldn't. I'm Jacob Castor. I'm also an Auror. I work at the Intelligence Division and the Dark Arts Detection Division, so you don't have much chance of seeing or hearing about me."  
  
  
  
"Oh, so you're collecting information for our side.Your division must be suffering under huge pressures these days."  
  
  
  
"Yes. . . the Dark Art detection system is not working properly. Complaint letters, howlers and reporters are all flooding the departments over our delay in detecting the Death Eater attack immediately. I'm lucky to be able to sneak out to get a drink."  
  
  
  
At that moment, the barman returned with a mug of beer and put it in front of Jacob.  
  
  
  
"Me too. We just finished the search for the Death Eaters in that area. But I suppose no one would be able to get another day off, now that the Dark Arts are rampant again."  
  
  
  
The expression on Jacob's face seemed to darken and he shoved his seat closer to Douglas that their shoulders touched. He leaned closer to Douglas and said in a low voice, "People are saying that You-Know-Who is back. Do you think so?"  
  
  
  
"I think that it is clear that he is back. Why else would those Death Eaters suddenly come out of their dormant state and attack in such an organized way? There is no one else who can do this but him." Douglas replied. He didn't really want to talk about Voldemort at the moment, the mere thought of the evil man cause a dull ache in his head.  
  
  
  
"I forgot to ask, how do you know me?"  
  
  
  
"Oh, that." Jacob leaned back into his chair, "I've seen you several times in the Headquarter. It's just that you don't remember." No wonder Douglas felt that Jacob was familiar to him. "Many Aurors have heard of you back in the last few years - a brilliant newcomer who excelled the study of Dart Arts. There was an article about you in the Prophet just a few months ago, wasn't there?"  
  
  
  
"That article was about the group of Aurors studying advance Dart Arts theories, not only me . . . and I'm not that great at all. You know the Prophet likes to exaggerate."  
  
  
  
"No, I know that you deserve the praise. Don't be so humble. I can see great things waiting for you in the future." Jacob lay his hand on Douglas' shoulder and patted him several times. "Go ahead, young man. I'm sure you will have great achievements."  
  
  
  
Douglas smiled a bit embarrassedly at Jacob. He couldn't explain why, but he seemed to have taken a liking to Jacob.  
  
  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
  
  
Haruka opened her eyes and wondered where exactly she was. Her body ached all over. Perhaps she should have a slow jog around her favorite park and let the soft wind sooth all her pain. Haruka yawned, stretched, and then realized that she was not in the bedroom in the house she shared with her friends. The still unfamiliar surrounding of the hotel room reminded Haruka once again that she was no longer in Japan. Instead she was in London and in the previous day she had just met Harry Potter and Sirius Black.  
  
  
  
Haruka got up from the bed and walked to the window. The sun shone brightly in the mid-sky. She threw the window open and let the soft breeze caress her skin and her short blond hair gently. The wind had always been comforting to her, almost like a part of her nature. Sometimes she just wanted to leave all her worries and duties behind and melt into the wind and simply fly away.  
  
  
  
But Haruka knew she couldn't. She turned from the window and went for a brief bath, then went to the next room to check on the two occupants there. Both of them - Harry and Sirius - were in deep slumber on the same bed, with Sirius' one arm wrapped around Harry's shoulder, as if trying to shield his godson from the evils of the world even when he slept. Haruka really didn't want to admit to herself, but the two of them looked . . . adorable together. What was she thinking? She scolded mentally.  
  
  
  
She realized something else as she continued to study the two. Harry's youthful face, for the first time since Haruka had met him, seemed truly in peace. How it contrasted with the utmost desperation and fear on his face yesterday. It made Haruka's heart ache faintly. What kind of ordeal and torment had been inflicted on the boy for such kind of tiredness to be shown? Surely the death of his parents was only one of them. And the boy's godfather, Sirius, with his long and soft black hair and pale complexion, also seemed much more relaxed than when they were in the burning inn. And again Haruka couldn't help but noticed that the man was handsome . . . Haruka had not really been that interested in man for years, but this man seemed . . . different.  
  
  
  
What should she tell them when they awoke? And there were so much for her to ask. She wanted to know more about Harry and Sirius. Also, what should they do next? It was beyond doubt that the evil man, Voldemort, really wanted to get to Harry, but why? And what about the weapon that James and Lily told her about, the one that held the power to destroy Voldemort? But above all these, would Sirius and Harry trust her enough to let her help them?  
  
  
  
"Ms. . . Ms Tenoh? . . . Hello? Haruka!" the deep voice jerked Haruka out of her trance, and Haruka suddenly found herself under the intense gaze of Sirius Black.  
  
  
  
"Sorry. I was lost in my own thoughts." Haruka lent Sirius a hand as he tried to heave himself up from the bed.  
  
  
  
"I can see that," He replied in a low and hushed voice, apparently trying not to wake his godson from his peaceful slumber.  
  
  
  
Haruka led Sirius to her room so that he could have wash up. She ordered some food for him and they ate the meal in silence. When Sirius put down his teacup on the polished wooden table, both knew that now the inevitable questions were going to start.  
  
  
  
"How are you feeling? Does your wound still hurt?" Haruka asked.  
  
"No, I feel better. You did a pretty good job on the bandaging."  
  
"I have to thank you. You must have gotten that wound when you shielded me back in the inn."  
  
"Never mind. You have also saved my back back there, so we are even, alright?"  
  
  
  
Haruka nodded, and they lapsed into momentarily silence.  
  
  
  
"So," Sirius said, staring intently at Haruka's eyes, "Who are you, and what do you want?"  
  
  
  
"Tenoh Haruka is my real name. And I guess I'm not a witch. But I have special powers. I will explain about that later, at least when Harry is awake." Haruka paused. If she were to gain his trust, she had to be careful about what she said next. But maybe the best course of action would be to simply tell the truth. "My purpose of coming to London is . . . Harry."  
  
  
  
Sirius' pale blue eyes narrowed.  
  
"I was asked to find Harry and protect him. Then I should aid him in bringing about the end of Voldemort."  
  
  
  
"You were asked? By whom?" As the conversation went along, it was as if Sirius could feel where it was leading to. His heart leapt faster and faster after the question left his mouth and as Haruka hesitated.  
  
  
  
Haruka paused because she knew the names of his two dead friends would be a great shock to Sirius, but sooner or later, he had to know. So she blurted out the names of James and Lily Potter.  
  
  
  
Sirius' stomach gave a painful lurch when the names of his two dead friends left her lips.   
  
  
  
Sirius' mind almost went numb. Could he trust her? Should he trust her about this? Oh, how desperately he wanted to believe in her! To believe that his dear friends had not completely passed away and turned away from the affairs of the mortal world. To believe that finally, after fourteen long years, they mingled in the affairs of the living again. And to believe that there was still a chance that he could meet them again.  
  
  
  
How tempting such thoughts were! How enticing it was to believe her! But it would be equally outrageous if Haruka was only trying to deceive him. It would be totally unforgivable if she tried to use their memory . . . to use his respect and longing for them. However, Sirius could feel her sympathetic gaze on him . . . perhaps she felt guilty to bring up such a matter.  
  
  
  
Sirius covered his eyes with his hands in a vain attempt to clear his mind up a bit. He had thought that it would be less painful to think of them. Their memory should be resting in peace in his mind. How stupid and naive he was. Hardly a day had gone by without him thinking about their past, their ruined house, and the sight of their bodies. The pain of losing them had not been lessened, and the guilt he felt in failing them by no means had faded. However, he should be strong for Harry. He should be strong to protect his godson.  
  
  
  
'Get a hold of yourself, Sirius Black!' he thought and squeezed his eyes shut. Then he felt a comforting pressure on his shoulder and removed his hand. Haruka had departed from her seat and knelt in front of him. She looked at him determinedly in the eyes, her dark teal blue ones unwavering.  
  
  
  
"I'm no good in comforting people, really. But I understand how you feel about your friends. I understand that their memories are sacred to you. No one should tamper with them," she said.  
  
  
  
Sirius could tell that Haruka was struggling inwardly to phase her words truthfully. Could he trust her?  
  
  
  
She continued, "And that I've no solid proof of what I've said - I've no means of proving that I've indeed met the ghost of James and Lily Potter. All I can do is . . . ask you to trust me."  
  
  
  
Sirius found himself nearly drowning in the pools of dark blue eyes which were deeper than the midnight sky. In them Sirius could not find a trace of untruthfulness.  
  
  
  
For a seemingly very long period, both of them just lost themselves in each other's gaze. Sirius finally found his voice, "Why should I trust you? And why do you want me to trust you? Why are you helping us? " He said almost in a whisper.  
  
  
  
"I . . . because," Haruka rose form her kneeling position of the floor and pulled a chair near and sat down before turning her gaze back to Sirius. Her expression was unreadable. "Frankly, you've asked the one question that I've no answer. It just seemed the right thing for me to do. When James and Lily asked me to help Harry, I just felt that I have to do it. It was kind of . . . kind of a crossroad in my life. I've reached a point where I can't move on without a new purpose. I don't know how to put it into words, but I just want to help Harry . . . and you." Haruka looked tentatively at Sirius, "So do you trust me?"  
  
  
  
Sirius really felt baffled. It was full of thoughts of James and Lily, of Harry, and Haruka's words. How should he decide? How? If it were only himself, Sirius wouldn't hesitate. But now he had Harry in his care. He could not take any chances. He couldn't let any harm come to Harry. But if Haruka was really there to help . . . "God. I'm such a poor godfather! And to think that tomorrow is Harry's birthday. I can't even guarantee him peace on his birthday!" Sirius blurted out in frustration. He had never been this indecisive. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair.  
  
  
  
"It's just your rational side telling you not to misplace your trust, especially where Harry's safety is concerned Let's face it, Sirius Black, you're not a poor godfather at all. You're now talking with me, a woman you know may pose a threat to you and your godson, in a perfectly civil manner. It's because deep at heart, you already trust me. You're accepting my help."  
  
  
  
Sirius began to see her logic and realized that he did trust her. But yet . . . he couldn't afford the consequences of placing his trust wrongfully again. 'James. Lily. Please tell me what to believe . . .'  
  
  
  
As if sensing his thought Haruka said. "And before I forget, there's a message for you from James and Lily Potter, " Sirius immediately listened to her in rapt attention. Haruka suddenly seemed a bit uneasy about being stared at so intently. Her reaction was weird. It just didn't seem her usual cool and collected demeanor.  
  
  
  
"You should note that what I'm about to say is word for word of what James said." She paused and studied Sirius for a while, then said, "Please tell Sirius, Harry's godfather who may be a black dog nicknamed Padfoot, that we don't blame him - "  
  
  
  
Haruka's voice was interrupted by Sirius' own thoughts, "That's so predicable. Oh, James. I know you would tell me that it's not my fault. I know that you two would not say that you blame me."  
  
  
  
"and we are grateful for what he has done for Harry."  
  
Sirius felt his eyes stinging. He could almost hear the words from James' mouth . . . this was the exact tone James would use when he was serious . . .  
  
  
  
Haruka cleared her throat up a bit and took in a deep breath. And yelled.  
  
  
  
"Tell that stubborn man STOP blaming himself!!"  
  
  
  
Haruka's voice seemed to ring through the room and left a resonance there. After a moment of silence, Sirius couldn't help but chuckle, which triggered something inside of him to break loose, and he laughed. He laughed so hard that his shoulder, his body, and his whole being shook uncontrollably. He covered his eyes with his trembling hand before tears started to roll down freely. "James! Oh, James . . ." he choked through his laughter and tears. It was as if something monstrous had been lifted from his inner soul. . . it was as if he could breath freely for the first time since that faithful Halloween night fourteen years ago.  
  
  
  
It also left no doubt in Sirius's mind that Haruka had indeed met James and Lily Potter.  
  
  
  
********************************************************************* 


End file.
